I’m beginning to ache for games at the Bell Centre. A struggling Canadiens team was put to task today by the Washington Capitals and their returning Captain Alexander Ovechkin. Two relatively boring periods (save for Tory Brouwer’s penalty shot chance) set the stage for a capital clampdown in the final twenty minutes, a test passed with flying colors.
A one goal lead heading into the third period in an opponent’s rink hasn’t been kind to the Capitals over the past few years. A run and gun offense would always ensure a shootout down to the last second, oftentimes with three or four goals being scored between the teams. This afternoon in Montreal however, the Capitals were able to both bear down defensively and put two goals past Peter Budaj to give themselves the necessary breathing room. A game winner scored by Dennis Wideman back in the first period proved to be all that Tomas Vokoun and the Capitals would need, taking it by a three to zero count.
A bounce back win after a tough southern road trip is exactly what the doctor ordered for Dale Hunter’s bunch. The team played a complete sixty minutes and kept the struggling Canadiens away from the front of their net. Shots were taken from the perimeter while Vokoun and defense kept second chance opportunities from being plated. As noted by Washington Times’ Stephen Whyno this afternoon’s game marked the third straight shutout posted by the Capitals in the Bell Centre. The Canadien’s scoreless streak now extended to 216 minutes.
Great games were put in by both Brooks Laich and Troy Brouwer again, Brouwer a force all night in the offensive zone, including earning himself an unsuccessful penalty shot attempt in the first period. He played the Canadiens’ defensemen hard on the boards all night, including one nasty shift with Montreal’s P.K. Subban below the goal line. Brooks took the puck hard to the net early in the third period where he kicked it into a wide open slot, Matt Hendricks there to receive the resulting empty net goal. He also assisted on the game’s opening tally, a shot by Dennis Wideman that finagled its way through Peter Budaj.
The play of the afternoon certainly belonged to Alexander Semin, scoring his thirteenth of the year on the game’s second penalty shot late in the third period. Given all the time and space allowed Semin nonchalantly skated down the middle of the ice and put the puck past a Budaj glove hand that didn’t have a chance. Coupled with his secondary assist on Hendricks’ goal Semin put in a strong third period of play. With a three to nothing lead and eight minutes to play the game belonged to the Capitals, holding on strong to preserve yet another sharp outing in Montreal.
The Capitals will be flying home to Washington, DC shortly to prepare themselves for the Boston Bruins at Verizon Center on Superbowl Sunday at 12:30. The Bruins will be heading south after a tough loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday afternoon as well. With both teams coming off a game the previous day we hope that the Capitals’ momentum and Semin’s swagger find their way to Verizon by high noon tomorrow, ready to upset the Beast of the East Bruins.
