Road trip brings Caps’ first two losses of year
Capitals goalie Tomas Vokoun has been around long enough now that he can predict the ups and downs of an NHL regular season. His team began the year 7-0, and the 35-year-old was in goal for six of those victories. But did he feel at all comfortable about Washington’s fast start?
“That’s when things can change quickly in a hurry,” Vokoun said last week before the Caps’ two-game road trip to western Canada. “You’re sitting there after maybe one bad week and saying, ‘Oh, my god. What happened.’ How can we go from here to that?’ All of the sudden all the good press is bad press. I’ve been there before. For us it’s focusing on the task at hand.”
The veteran knows what he’s talking about. After a 2-1 loss to Edmonton on Thursday — a game in which the Caps committed eight penalties and gave up two power-play goals — Washington was soundly beaten at Vancouver 7-4, and Vokoun was pulled from the game after just one period. That’s how fast things change in the NHL.
| Notes |
| » Washington placed enforcer D.J. King on waivers Monday at his request. King played in just 16 games last season with the Caps and only one so far this season. King told reporters at Kettler Iceplex on Monday that he hopes to catch on with another NHL club before the waiver deadline at noon Tuesday. |
| » Caps coach Bruce Boudreau told reporters that defenseman John Erskine is again close to making his season debut after left shoulder surgery last May. But he still has not been cleared by team doctors. |
The Caps (7-2-0, 14 standings points) have the chance to rebound Tuesday night at Verizon Center when they face the Anaheim Ducks. Expected to be a playoff contender this season in the Western Conference, Anaheim enters on a two-game losing streak and at 5-5-1 is actually in last place in the Pacific Division through 11 games.
Few teams in the NHL have a better top line than the Ducks. Corey Perry, last year’s Hart Trophy winner as the league’s MVP, Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan have combined for 12 goals and 19 points. Anaheim won in the District last season 2-1 in overtime in the midst of Washington’s eight-game winless streak in mid-December.
The two teams then combined for 13 goals in the rematch on Feb. 16 in California, a 7-6 Caps win. Getzlaf, Perry and Ryan all scored in that contest. Washington rallied from a 4-2 deficit in that one and trailed 4-3, 5-4 and 6-5 before a pair of Alexander Semin goals in the final 10 minutes pulled out the victory.
Washington coach Bruce Boudreau told reporters Monday that defenseman Mike Green won’t play Tuesday “unless we have a miracle.” Green has missed seven practices and two games since injuring an ankle against Detroit on Oct. 22. But Boudreau said Green is making progress toward a recovery. The Caps’ next games are back-to-back against Carolina and the New York Islanders on Friday and Saturday later this week.
