A sellout crowd at Verizon Center just wanted to put last year’s heartbreaking Game 7 Stanley Cup playoff loss to the Philadelphia Flyers behind it.
True vengeance will have to wait for April, of course. No regular-season win can make up for postseason failure. But the Capitals at least soothed the pain — for both themselves and their fans — with a dramatic 2-1 shootout victory over the Flyers in this burgeoning rivalry on Tuesday night.
Up 1-0 after two periods, the Caps faltered in the third as defenseman Braydon Coburn scored a power-play goal for Philadelphia. But this time the home crowd would leave happy when goaltender Jose Theodore stopped all three Flyers attempts in the shootout. He also finished with 33 saves in regulation while Viktor Kozlov notched the lone shootout goal for the Caps.
With the win, Washington (27-11-3, 57 points) finished the season’s first 41 games with the highest first-half winning percentage (.695) in team history. The Caps have now won seven in a row and 13 of 15. They are 18-1-1 at Verizon Center this season – including nine in a row, one victory shy of tying the franchise record for consecutive home wins (10). Washington also avenged a 7-1 loss at Philadelphia (21-10-9, 51 points) on Dec. 20.
“Enough had been said about the ‘war’ between Philly and Washington,” said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. “We thought this was a business day and we wanted to be like machines. It was a 50-50 game right there to the end and that’s what happens when two real good teams play.”
The Caps took the early 1-0 lead on a power-play goal by center Nicklas Backstrom. Just 19 seconds after a holding penalty on Philadelphia defenseman Luca Sbisa, Alexander Semin flipped a nifty backhand pass from behind the Flyers’ net. Backstrom – alone in front — settled the bouncing puck in his skates and smacked it past goalie Martin Biron (33 saves) at 2 minutes, 10 seconds of the first period.
Backstrom, a second-year pro, now has 12 goals and is already closing in on his total as a rookie (14). He also has 45 points, not far from last year’s total (69) in that category, too. After a slow start, Backstrom has 41 points over the last 29 games and had vaulted to No. 10 in the NHL scoring race entering Tuesday’s action.
Backstrom’s goal was all the scoring through the first two periods of an evenly played contest. Both teams had 23 shots after two, but struggled to finish chances in front.
“I had visions of Niittymaki,” Boudreau cracked, referring to the Dec. 20 game when Washington pumped 48 shots at Philadelphia goalie Antero Niittymaki and came away with one measly goal.
Those missed chances proved costly in the third period when it took Philadelphia just five seconds to tie the game after Michael Nylander was whistled for a hooking penalty at :18 of the third period. Coburn’s shot slipped past a screened Theodore, who otherwise was stellar.
He has started six of the last seven games and appears to be rounding into form. Theodore has allowed just seven goals in his last five games and stopped 130 of 137 shots. He was excellent in the shootout, too, stopping all three attempts, including a sliding leg save on Mike Richards.
“I always like our chances in shootouts,” said Theodore, who is 11-3 in them during his career. “With the skill that we have and my record I feel pretty comfortable. When we scored that first one I just knew that if I stopped the next three we’d get the win.”
The shootout has always been a strength for Kozlov, too, with 17-of-35 attempts converted in his career. On the first try, he lifted a backhander over Biron’s glove. And that was it. Biron snagged Alexander Semin’s subsequent attempt and Alex Ovechkin then rang the right post. That left things to Theodore, who was up to the challenge.
“Jose played unbelievable,” Ovechkin said. “He played with confidence and he played good for us and made the big saves.”
The game was filled with big hits. Ovechkin drilled Flyers rookie Sbisa into the boards in the second period. But he drew the ire of the Philadelphia bench with a hit on forward Jeff Carter in the third period that was close to knee-on-knee. Ovechkin was trying to avoid teammate Chris Clark at the time he ran at Carter, who was not injured, and shook his head as several Flyers chirped at him. Clark, however, did not return. His status was not updated after the game.
Even with 34 shots from each team, it was a contest played far more in the neutral zone than either offensive end. Point shots were routinely blocked by defenders. Bodies filled the space in front of each goalie, tips and deflections the best bet to knock a puck home. Much like a playoff game, no player wanted to commit that one costly mistake so risks were kept to a minimum.
“We are showing we can play defense, too,” said Caps center Boyd Gordon, whose team beat the New York Rangers 2-1 on Saturday. “Our goals against have been better lately and we want to keep that up. As long as we’re winning that’s the most important thing.”
Caps notes
» Verizon Center hosted its 10th sellout crowd of the season (18,277) and sixth in a row.
» The Caps had killed 15 of their previous 17 penalties entering the game and 54 of their last 65 overall since Dec. 1. Philadelphia, which has the second-best power play in the NHL, was 1-for-4 with the extra man on Tuesday. Washington has now killed 57-of-69, including a 30-second 5-on-3 in the first period.
» There was a five-minute delay before the shootout because the ice surface was thinner at the Philadelphia end and had to be resurfaced a second time. The sarcastic response from Caps coach Bruce Boudreau: “Well, just tell them not to skate wide.”
» The Caps remain in second place overall in the Eastern Conference. But with 57 points, they now trail the first-place Boston Bruins (29-7-4, 62 points) by just five points for the top spot.
