Calgary Flames 5, Caps 3
Someone forgot to set the alarm for the Caps today and that proved costly in a 5-3 loss to the Flames. It was just the fifth time this season Washington has dropped a game in regulation at home.
“We didn’t have any energy. It looked like we were skating in quicksand,” said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. “Their sense of urgency was so tremendous. They had got called out by [general manager Darryl Sutter] yesterday and had gotten embarrassed pretty well in Boston. So we knew they were going to come out. But we just didn’t meet their push and for the first time in a long time it looked like [Jose Theodore] was struggling a little bit.”
Theodore gave up four goals on the first 11 shots he saw. It was his worst game in at least two months – though because the Caps actually scored three times the loss went to rookie goalie Semyon Varlamov, who gave up two goals on 12 shots after entering midway through the first period. Varlamov gave up a rough looking backhand to Niklas Hagman and kind of a fluke goal to Rene Bourque late in the second period that hit his stick and deflected high over his head and into the goal. That one, according to Boudreau, hurt the most by pushing the lead back to 5-1. David Steckel quickly answered with his first goal since Jan. 19. But the damage had been done.
Boudreau sometimes makes a goalie change when it’s clear his team hasn’t come to play in a particular game. But this time he thought Theodore was just having one of those nights. Boudreau did say Theodore will be right back in net on Tuesday against Ottawa. Defenseman Mike Green was adamant that Theodore’s teammates let him down, noting how often the 33-year-old veteran has bailed them out the last two months.
“I just thought he was fighting the puck, every shot,” Boudreau said. “I just didn’t think he had it today. He’ll be back in Tuesday. But he played an awful lot of good games where he’s kept us in it the first period and we just weren’t ready to play in the first period. It was indicative with four shots on goal [in the first period] that you’re not ready.”
Caps Notes
» A report in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette on Sunday morning says the NHL is “likely” to pair the Caps and Penguins in next year’s Winter Classic at a Pittsburgh venue – either Heinz Field or possibly PNC Park. The newspaper reported that Penguins officials had no comment. NHL officials also had no comment. Final word will have to wait until the summer when the league traditionally has announced its Winter Classic plans.
» Washington falls to 49-15-11 with 109 points. Doubt many Caps will do much scoreboard watching tonight. But if the New Jersey Devils happen to lose to Philadelphia Sunday night then Washington does still clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
» Rookie Mathieu Perreault scored career goal No. 3 in the third period – a nice swiped shot on an Alex Ovechkin rebound that made it 5-3 at 4:45.
» Ovechkin’s power-play goal gave him the NHL goals scored lead for about two hours until Sidney Crosby tied him again at 46 and then passed him with another one. Ovechkin leads the Caps with 12 power-play goals. He has 100 points total for the fourth time in five years and is one behind Henrik Sedin of Vancouver for the overall NHL lead.
» Center Nicklas Backstrom had an assist and is just the fifth Caps player to post a 90-point season.
» The Caps last allowed four goals in an opening period at Verizon Center on March 1, 2009 – a 6-2 loss to the Florida Panthers.
