Caps 7, Devils 2
A nice rebound win for the Caps (1-1) after Friday’s bummer of an effort against the Thrashers in Atlanta. Alex Ovechkin scored two goals – one on a penalty shot against Martin Brodeur he’s sure to remember for a while – and added an assist. Rookie goalie Michal Neuvirth shook off a tough start to finish with 31 saves on 33 shots. Fellow rookie John Carlson recorded his first goal of the season and added two assists. Read about the chaotic last five minutes – four fights and 61 combined penalty minutes.
Really, the biggest controversy in the final five minutes was New Jersey forward Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond trying to fight Caps rookie Marcus Johansson. Considering the kid is 20 and was playing in his second NHL game that drew the ire of Washington’s other players.
“What [Leblond] did was I think a little bit gutless,” said forward Matt Bradley. “He went after Johansson whose a 20-year-old, never been in a fight in his life. He could have chosen a lot of guys ahead of him so I don’t agree with that. Everything else was okay, but that was a gutless play.”
Added Caps coach Bruce Boudreau on the random fight between star defenseman Mike Green and Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk:
“I don’t know what’s in the water. You got [Detroit Red Wings center Pavel] Datsyuk fighting one night and Mike Green the next night. But [the Devils] were frustrated because they’re a proud team and I don’t know if they’ve been beaten like that for a while. When they see their leader Kovalchuk fighting then I assume – like if [Ovechkin] fought for us – you say ‘Well, if he’s fighting then I’m going to go down swinging, too.”
But don’t let the fights overshadow what was a pretty entertaining affair, otherwise. Neuvirth was very good again after his teammates let him down far too often in Atlanta. He gave up a goal 109 seconds in, but allowed just one more the rest of the night.
“I was a little worried after the first goal that because we lost yesterday that [Neuvirth] would feel a little bit rattled, but he settled right down,” said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. “Other than the [Henrik] Tallinder shot – which we played so bad – he was there. And he doesn’t give up rebounds. They weren’t getting second opportunities.”
Can’t beat an Ovechkin vs. Brodeur penalty shot for great theatre. That came when Ovechkin was hauled down on a breakaway late in the second period. But he took an odd angle to the goal, coming in wide from the left, before dipping his shoulder and lifting the puck over Brodeur with a backhand.
“I didn’t know what he was doing,” Boudreau deadpanned. “It surprised me. Sometimes he goes wide down the right, sometimes down the middle. He just thought about going that way and held onto long enough to get it up when Brodeur sort of lunged at it and missed it with his glove. Just glad it went in because 5-2 going into the third is an awful lot nicer than 4-2.”
Caps Notes
» Washington won its ninth straight home opener and is 10-1-1 in home openers at Verizon Center.
» The Caps matched their most goals in a home opener. The last time they scored seven? An 8-7 loss to the Islanders in 1983.
» Ovechkin has a goal in all six home openers of his career. It is the third time he’s recorded two goals in a home opener.» Ovechkin is also now 2-for-7 in his career on penalty shots.
Follow me on Twitter @bmcnally14
