The Washington Capitals entered Tuesday night's game with the Montreal Canadiens on a three game regulation losing streak and in need of a spark.
They got that and more, as Alexander Semin scored twice, Tomas Fleischmann registered a goal and two helpers, and Michal Neuvirth pushed aside 24 of 26 shots, as the Caps completed a 4-2 victory over the Habs before a sellout crowd at Verizon Center.
The biggest news of the day, however, was the biggest spark that could have been provided. Earlier in the day, and announced just at game time, two-time Hart Trophy winner Alex Ovechkin was named as the 14th captain in Capitals' history, ending a three-game captainless stretch, the result of the trade that sent Chris Clark to Columbus.
Ovechkin was held without a point in his first game as captain, making it two games in a row the prolific scorer has been held off the scoresheet. But it was of no matter, as his countryman, Semin, tallied twice, including the icing on the cake with just over two minutes remaining.
To illustrate the point of leadership, coach Bruce Boudreau had his captain take the ice as time dwindled with the Caps fighting off the extra skater with less than a minu ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Dave Nichols
Alex Ovechkin Gets “C,” Washington Capitals Get a “W”
January 5th, 2010 by Dave Nichols Leave a reply »
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