Caps 3, Senators 2
Alex Ovechkin didn’t play very well. He admitted it. Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said it, too – chuckling to himself that such a payer could produce such a stinker with two penalties, just two hits and three shots on goal and still end up the hero.
Check out the details in our game story here. Ovechkin’s game-winning goal with just 32 seconds left in overtime gave Washington (2-1-0) its second win of the season. It was Ovechkin’s third in three games.
It’s apparently bizzaro-Caps world so far this season. The vaunted power play went 0-for-5 Monday and is 1-for-12 overall. Meanwhile, the oft-maligned penalty kill is 12-for-12. It’s a start for a unit that finished ranked 25th in the NHL last season (78.8 %).
“I was hoping the [penalty kill] would do well. We went through a lot of ideas all summer long,” Boudreau said. “The power play will get better. If you look at our trends over the past three years, for whatever reason in October it hasn’t been solid and then it starts getting better in November.”
Defenseman Tom Poti was a surprise scratch with a lower-body injury after taking warm-ups. The Caps also lost forward Matt Bradley to his own lower-body injury in the first period. Both players are listed as day-to-day. We’ll see if either can practice tomorrow, which is set for 11 a.m. at Kettler Iceplex.
Defenseman Mike Green has registered just one point in three games this season. Doesn’t mean he’s struggling, though. Thanks to Poti’s injury and an inordinate amount of power-play and penalty-kill opportunities Green logged 31 minutes, 53 seconds of ice time. He finished as a +2 and was the game’s second star. Overall, Green is filling up stat categories other than goals and assists. He has eight hits in three games – okay, not always a reliable stat, but still. Green also has seven blocked shots and is a +4 overall. The offensive production will come. But that’s a pretty good start. Heck, he even has a fighting major. Who is this guy?
“I think [Green] played 30 minutes or more tonight. He might not be getting the points, but he sure is playing well – him and Jeff [Schultz],” Boudreau said.
Meanwhile, Caps winger Alex Semin just continues to toy with the Senators. He had a goal tonight and for his career now has 12 goals and nine assists against them in 16 games.
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