Sports
Oilers send Caps into skid
By: Brian McNally
Examiner Staff Writer
January 14, 2009
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| Kyle Brodziak and the Oilers breezed past Donald Brashear and the Caps Tuesday night at Verizon Center. (Getty Images) |
Consistency has been their hallmark since Bruce Boudreau took over as coach on Thanksgiving Day in 2007.
Caps notesWith just one three-game losing streak in regulation over the 105 games since Boudreau was hired, the Capitals have managed to avoid the lengthy dry spells that can cripple a season.
» Verizon Center’s sellout streak ended at seven games. The Oilers-Caps game drew an announced crowd of 17,949. Washington’s next two games against Boston (Jan. 17) and Detroit (Jan. 27) are already sold out.
» It’s been a rough few games for defensemen Karl Alzner and Milan Jurcina. Alzner had a poor -1 showing Friday against Columbus. Jurcina took a closing-the-hand-on-the-puck penalty Saturday against Montreal and his misplay with just 20 seconds in regulation led to the game-winner for the Canadiens. Tuesday, both players were on the ice for the first three Edmonton goals and Alzner committed his first penalty in 22 career NHL games for delay-of-game after flipping the puck into the stands from the defensive zone.
» Defenseman Mike Green pocketed a late power-play goal for the Caps at 16:51 of the third period. It was his 11th of the year – nine of those on the power play. Earlier, Green recorded his 100th career point after an assist on Tomas Fleischmann’s second-period goal.
» Fleischmann’s goal at 7:40 of the second period – his 14th of the year — was a beauty. He streaked over the blueline, beat four Oilers all by himself, and then roofed a wrist shot over Edmonton goalie Dwayne Roloson. The best move? Chipping the puck through defensemen Denis Grebeshkov and Lubomir Visnovsky to get a clear look at the net.
» The stat tracking at Verizon Center is often a vexing topic among Caps players and opponents alike. Said Edmonton forward Erik Cole, a veteran of the Southeast Division after six years with the Carolina Hurricanes:
“I’ve played in this building enough to know that the shot clock doesn’t always tell the story. But I don’t think that you can just sit there and look up at a shot clock and tell how the game is going. They had a step on us early in the first period and they start strong here. But we were able to weather the storm and bounce back to have a pretty good game.”
» The Caps were 1-for-5 on the power play against the Oilers and are mired in a 4-for-26 funk in the six games played in 2009. The power play entered the night ranked sixth overall in the NHL.
“Our power play in not operating at the efficiency it was operating at two weeks ago,” said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. “You can draw your own conclusions from that. We have power-play meetings every single game day and we have film on the power play for the team we’re playing.”
» Edmonton won at Washington for the first time since Nov. 8, 1997, snapping a string of six losses in a row. It was also the Oilers’ first victory at Verizon Center.
» The Caps are now 6-8 against Western Conference opponents this season..
But cruising towards a Southeast Division title and with visions of a deep Stanley Cup playoff run dancing in their heads, the Caps suddenly find themselves in the midst of downturn after an ugly 5-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night at Verizon Center.
Forwards Steve MacIntyre, Erik Cole and Gilbert Brule scored the first three goals of the game for the Oilers (21-18-3, 45 points), who handed Washington (27-14-3, 57 points) its third consecutive loss — and second straight at home after an 18-1-1 start in the District. The only other three-game losing streak under Boudreau came in November when the Caps lost at Los Angeles, San Jose and Minnesota.
“When it gets to the point where everyone wants to be the scorer and nobody wants to be the mucker you are not going to do anything,” said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. “Everybody’s waiting and when you put a skilled lineup together everybody needs to do the grunt job. Until we get that happening we’re not going to score a lot of goals.”
Edmonton struck twice in the first period despite being outshot 20-9. The first goal came at 12 minutes, 59 seconds when MacIntyre blasted a shot from the top of the slot and past Caps goalie Jose Theodore (18 saves). It was the first NHL goal for the bruising forward.
“I was just being an old defensemen. [Denis] Grebeshkov made a really good pass and I was just trying to get it on net,” MacIntyre said. “You grow up dreaming to play in the NHL and you get out there against some pretty good players and you happen to get a lucky one. I figure that’s pretty good.”
Moments later, Caps forward Alex Semin took his second hooking penalty in less than five minutes. The Oilers took quick advantage on the power play when Cole crashed the crease on a shot from defenseman Sheldon Souray and knocked the puck home.
Early in the second period, Caps forward David Steckel was stripped by Kyle Brodziak, whose quick pass to Brule led to a sweet backhanded flip past Theodore and a 3-0 lead.
“It was apparent tonight that we weren’t ready to play them and we took them too lightly,” said Caps defenseman Mike Green. “We can’t do that. But it is over and done with. We’ve got to win tomorrow [at Pittsburgh].”
Cole put the game out of reach at 3:19 of the third when he tipped home a shot by Brodziak. He later added an empty-net goal with 58 seconds left to complete the hat trick. Tomas Fleischmann and Mike Green both scored for the Caps, who travel to Pittsburgh (21-19-4, 46 points) tonight for a much-anticipated contest that now has added meaning thanks to the losing streak. It is Washington’s second visit to Mellon Arena this season after a 4-3 win there on Oct. 16.
Up next »Special teams were an issue again for the Caps. The power play was 1-for-5, including a scoreless 5-on-3 advantage for 42 seconds at the end of the first period. And while it outshot Edmonton, 36-23, few of Washington’s chances after the first five minutes challenged Oilers’ goalie Dwayne Roloson (34 saves).
Capitals at Penguins
When » Tonight, 7
Where » Mellon Arena
TV/Radio » CSN(HD)/1500 AM
“We don’t have traffic,” said Caps left wing Alex Ovechkin, who singled out his own line, including center Nicklas Backstrom and right wing Alexander Semin, for its poor play. “Bruce tells us that if you want to get goals you have to take traffic. If we have traffic and get lots of shots the goalie doesn’t see what is going on, where the puck is going, and we put the puck in the net. Today we just tried to play so cute and we just have to change it.”
