Caps Postgame – 5-4 win over Tampa Bay

Concerns after this one? Giving up four goals, obviously, and losing a 4-2 lead in a span of 1 minutes 53 seconds in the third period. That left Bruce Boudreau dropping a series of unprintable phrases behind the bench. But Walker bailed them out at 13:09 of the third period by batting home a rebound to put the Caps back on top.

Rookie goalie Semyon Varlamov wasn’t bad in his second start since Dec. 7. He was left out to dry on the breakaway by Vincent Lecavalier that made it 4-3 Caps. But Varlamov stopped 25 of 29 shots and is now 13-2-2 on the year.

“Thought he looked like he was moving fine,” Boudreau said. “I’ll have to ask him how he felt. But he’s getting better. Bottom line is he plays and we win.”

Key point of the game was the rash of penalties the Caps took in the second period. First Mike Green was whistled for a dive at the same time Victor Hedman hooked him. That made it 4-on-4 – until Brooks Laich took a high-sticking penalty six seconds later. Tom Poti also skated to the box at 14:04 with his own high stick. Down 4-on-3 for 1:54, the Caps needed a kill. Nicklas Backstrom provided it. With his stick broken and the power-play advantage essentially 4-on-2 1/2 he blocked two consecutive hard shots from Kurtis Foster with his legs.

“I don’t know how many other superstars in the league would be doing that on a [4-on-3], which is what makes him special,” Boudreau said of Backstrom. “It was definitely a turning point. They had made it 3-2. We did let up after it was 4-2. But if they had scored one early when Nicky was up there they still got a 4-on-3 again. They could have got the lead and then it’s a lot different story.”

Caps Notes

» The Caps played before another sellout crowd at Verizon Center. It was No. 30 this season, breaking last year’s franchise record of 29 sellouts. Counting playoff games it was the team’s 45th consecutive sellout.

» Alex Ovechkin kept the puck in the offensive zone late in the second period, got the puck to Nicklas Backstrom and recorded a secondary assist when Mike Knuble scored. That is point No. 90 for Ovechkin this season, tops in the NHL. No other NHL player has 90 points in every season since the league returned from the 2004-05 lockout.

» Caps extended their team record for home wins to 12 in a row. They haven’t lost at Verizon Center since Dec. 28.

» Bruce Boudreau’s Caps teams are now 15-1 against Tampa Bay since he took over on Thanksgiving Day, 2007.

» Scott Walker last scored two goals in one game while with the Carolina Hurricanes on March 2, 2007 against Pittsburgh. It was his 24th game-winning goal.

» Mike Green has points in each of the last nine games he’s played – with a brief suspension thrown in the mix there. His 47 assists lead all NHL defensemen.

» Brooks Laich assisted on Mike Knuble’s first goal. He now has 47 points, just six shy of his career high.

» Nicklas Backstrom leads the Caps in assists with 51. He helped on Knuble’s second goal. 

» Tampa Bay was 2-for-5 on the power play. Both times, according to Bruce Boudreau, the Lightning took advantage when the Caps shaded too much towards Steven Stamkos and left open space elsewhere on the ice. Vincent Lecavalier scored two goals on the night. Steve Downie had the other. Martin St. Louis had three assists. The Lightning (26-26-11, 63 points) dropped to 11th place in the Eastern Conference and have lost five in a row in regulation yet are still just three points out of a playoff spot.

» For the first time in team history the Lightning have allowed five goals or more in five consecutive games. During this losing streak they have given up 27 goals.

Notable Quotable

Bruce Boudreau on forward Scott Walker, playing in his first game after Wednesday’s trade with the Carolina Hurricanes.

“I think he’d only had about 4 minutes of ice time after the first two periods so I wanted to get him out there a little more in his first game. But he had to sit with all the penalties. His history has been right place at the right time or the right hit. Sometimes you look around the league at the trades and guys that are scoring in their first game [with their new team] are all big game players.”

Capitals forward Mike Knuble on the expectations for the remainder of the season

“We need to get the idea that these last 20 games are going to be a lot harder than the first 60. Everybody got a chance to go away and every team realizes the situation when they get back. Tampa’s season is on the line. They’ve got to get points and make the playoffs. We’re going to get everyone’s best effort. Everyone’s going for the playoffs. These teams are playing for their lives. We can’t just slough off and hope that someone makes a play to score a goal or keep it out.”

Tampa Bay goalie Mike Smith on the goals allowed

“I’d like to have all five back. We’re not getting good goaltending right now. And this is the time of year when the goalie’s got to be your best player. If he’s not, then you won’t go very far. Saying that, I think I did some good things tonight I can build on. It’s been a while since I was in there. I felt a little more comfortable, thought I made some good saves. But like you said there are a couple there that I’d like to have back.”

Tampa Bay forward Steven Stamkos on the game

“We gave them a lot of opportunities to score. It’s not like they did anything special. It’s [five] games in a row we’ve given up at least five goals – can’t expect to win [those] games. I thought we battled hard the majority of the game. We stuck right with the best team in the league for however many minutes before we tied it up. And then the next shift they get one. That’s a killer. That breaks your back right there. It’s just little mistakes that we’re making – just mental mistakes. We’re running out of time right now.”