capitals hockey, The Daily Feed

Brouwer Scores OT Winner as Caps Come Back

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Capitals Logo
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Going into the third period last night, it looked as if the drubbing the Caps delivered to the Florida Panthers over the weekend was a fluke. Down 5-3 just over six minutes into the final frame, the Caps were at a point familiar to fans this season: the fold-n-fade.

Fortunately, not so last night. Eric Fehr tipped in a Joel Ward-to-Mike Green pass to put the spark back into the Caps. That culminated into an Alex Ovechkin power play goal with just under three minutes to go, tying it up at 5.

Troy Brouwer finished the Panthers off 32 seconds into overtime with a sweet breakaway, giving the Caps a much-needed divisional win. The victory also gave the team a morale booster shot. “Two points is two points,” Brouwer said to reporters after the game. “We’ve had a few games we’ve given away two points, now it’s our turn to battle back and get those two very important points. The way we did it is very encouraging, too, because we rely on our skill a lot of the time, but this time it was ugly. It was good bounces, guys going to the net. Those are the ways that you score those goals, and that’s how you get back in the games, guys working hard.”

A two-game win streak is promising, even if both come against a struggling Florida team. The real test will be if this can turn into a string of wins to put the Caps back on track. They’ll face Tampa Bay tomorrow at 7:30 pm.

capitals hockey, Sports Fix

Ovie Scores in OT as Caps Come Back to Defeat Islanders 3-2


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Ovechkin Fist Pump
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Alex Ovechkin played a terrible game last night. His passes weren’t connecting, he was often out of position, and he turned over the puck repeatedly. He shot wide to the left. He shot wide to the right. But when the game – and perhaps the season – was on the line in overtime, Ovie scored a spectacular goal to win the game and vault Washington back into a playoff spot.

Troy Brouwer set up the overtime heroics by scoring twice in the last four minutes of regulation to lead the come-from-behind victory. New York netminder Evgeni Nabokov was a brick wall through 56 minutes of the game, turning away the first 30 shots he faced. But Brouwer took an aggressive approach, taking his body to the net and scoring both goals from within a few feet of the goal line. Continue reading

capitals hockey, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed

Caps Outlast Lightning, Win 4-3

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Brouwer Skates Over Blue Line
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The Caps rode two early power play goals and a hat trick by Troy Brouwer to a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning last night at Verizon Center. Tampa Bay stormed back in the third period to draw within a goal twice. With the goalie on the bench for an extra forward, the Lightening pressed to the very end, scoring with 10 second remaining in the game, and nearly tieing the game as the final buzzer sounded. Continue reading

capitals hockey, The Daily Feed

Late Caps Rally Torpedoes Senators

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Vokoun Sprawls to Save
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The Capitals won their first game in regulation under new coach Dale Hunter, and their second victory since the bench boss’ debut. Like the last win, this one came against the Ottawa Senators. We’d also like to take a moment to welcome back Alex Ovechkin, whose goal last night was reminiscent of seasons past, when he actually played like a superstar.

The game wasn’t an easy win; the Caps had to rack up four goals in the third period in order to finish the comeback. But a win is a win right now, with the Caps having stumbled their way down the Southeast Division standings.

The good:

  • Ovechkin showed up on the score sheet after a five game drought; he scored on a beautifully skilled play in the third period to give the Caps a 3-2 lead.
  • Returning veteran Jeff Halpern knocked in his second of the season, putting the Caps on the scoreboard.
  • Troy Brouwer had his second Gordie Howe hat trick of his career, assisting on Halpern’s goal, scoring the team’s fourth marker, and taking on Jesse Winchester in the first period.
  • Nicklas Backstrom’s power play goal in the third ended an 0-for-24 slide in the special teams department; it was also the team’s first road PPG in over a month.
  • The Caps had 44 shots on goal.

The bad:

  • Inconsistent play kept Ottawa in the game, even late in the third.
  • The Caps still racked up the penalties, giving the Senators seven chances throughout the game (not counting Brouwer’s fisticuffs).
  • The power play still sputters; the Caps had a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:47 in the first period but failed to take advantage of it.

The quote:
“I glad [sic] we got the win and of course it’s nice it to get a goal, finally. Last couple of games I tried to score, but this time it worked.” Alex Ovechkin, on ending his goal drought.