A year later, Canucks atop NHL standings
The Capitals are not used to this. They are out of first place in the Southeast Division and had just a seven-point cushion over the No.?9 spot in the Eastern Conference entering play Thursday.
On Friday night Washington will see a team that looks familiar. The Vancouver Canucks have the most points in the NHL. They have not lost in regulation since Dec. 5 and have the league’s best power play, led by a Hart Trophy winner. Only the Detroit Red Wings score more goals a game. Sounds a lot like last year’s Caps, doesn’t it?
“It is different. And we’ve been there,” said defenseman Mike Green, whose team finished with the league’s best record in 2009-10 and at this time last season was embarking on a franchise-record 14-game winning streak. “We know they are a confident hockey team because we were at this point in the year last year, too.”
A better start would help. Washington has fallen behind in each of its last three games, including 2-0 at the end of the first period in both games of a recent road trip in Florida. Since Dec. 1, the Caps have led after the first period six times but trailed after the first period eight times. Five other games were tied heading into the second period.
| Caps notes |
| » Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said defenseman Tom Poti is out “at least one week” with an undisclosed injury suffered during Wednesday’s loss to Tampa Bay. |
| » Caps forward Alexander Semin, who missed both games of the Florida road trip, is not expected to play against Vancouver, either, Boudreau said. |
| » Washington returned forward Brian Willsie to Hershey of the American Hockey League on Thursday. |
“I wish I could pinpoint it because I’d change it,” Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said of his team’s slow starts. “In the Florida game [Tuesday] we were doing great until we took two penalties and had a 5-on-3. That sort of sets you back. Penalties … are what kills your momentum.”
The Caps (24-13-7, 55 points) were just seven points ahead of No.?9 Carolina, which played at Buffalo on Thursday night, and the Hurricanes had two games in hand. A struggling power play is now 4-for-49 since Dec.?12 and has dropped to 17th overall in the league (18.0 percent).
Henrik Sedin, the reigning Hart Trophy winner as league MVP, and his twin brother, Daniel, lead the Canucks, who also played Thursday night against the Rangers in New York. Both Sedins entered that contest with 55 points, tied for third in the NHL.
“All I know is they were eye-opening when we played them in Vancouver last year,” Boudreau said of a 3-2 loss on Dec. 18, 2009. “They were so good at knowing where each other is. We’re going to have to be at the top of our game.”
