The ping of a post was anything but music to the Capitals’ ears on Saturday night.
Three times in the first period alone a Washington shot hit iron. And the game’s final attempt by forward Alex Semin during the shootout clipped off the goal post as well as the Philadelphia Flyers escaped Verizon Center with a 5-4 shootout victory.
It was a contest that left the Caps with mixed feelings. They should have been ahead by more than 1-0 after hitting Brian Boucher’s goal post three times in the first seven minutes of play. Both coaches – Washington’s Bruce Boudreau and Philadelphia’s Peter Laviolette – lamented some aggressive officiating in a game with 16 power plays. But the Caps also rallied from 3-1 down in the third period with a pair of goals 28 seconds apart, fell behind again and finally scored a 6-on-4 goal by forward Eric Fehr with their own net empty and 39 seconds left in regulation.
That was enough to earn at least one standings point. But Philadelphia, which entered the night in second place in the Eastern Conference behind Washington, earned two points thanks to the lone shootout goal by forward Danny Briere. The Caps missed their first two chances and Semin’s final attempt dinged the post.
“You get a point. It’s not death,” said Washington coach Bruce Boudreau. “It’s our worst week of the season and it’s .500. That’s one regulation loss in the last 12. Let’s not sing taps on us yet. I thought we fought hard right to the end.”
Philadelphia took a 2-1 lead in the second period on goals by Claude Giroux and Mike Richards. Jeff Carter’s tally at 9:40 of the third period seemed to put the game out of reach at 3-1. But the Caps came right back. Nicklas Backstrom slammed home the rebound of an Alex Ovechkin shot to make it 3-2 at 11:03. Just 28 seconds later Jason Chimera had multiple whacks at a deflected puck and slipped one past Boucher to tie the game.
That elation didn’t last long however. Flyers forward James Van Riemsdyk kept a puck alive behind the Washington goal and sent a pass out front to Andreas Nodl, whose spun and shot, catching rookie goalie Michal Neuvirth (31 saves, 35 shots) by surprise.
“It went through my legs. I thought my stick was there,” Neuvirth said. “I’ve got to be smarter next time. He surprised me. It was a nice goal.”
The Caps still weren’t finished. During a Philadelphia power play after a Semin tripping penalty late, Briere put his team in a difficult spot with a hi-sticking penalty. Washington had the man-advantage for the final 67 seconds and pulled Neuvirth for the extra attacker. Brooks Laich won a battle for a loose puck behind the net and pushed a pass out to Fehr who ripped one past Boucher from the right wing to tie the score.
“I think this was the perfect team for us to play right now,” said Fehr, whose team struggled in an ugly 5-0 loss at Atlanta on Friday night. “We had a brutal game last night and we came right back against one of the top teams in the league. I thought we played pretty well and deserved a better fate.”
