Personnel losses have not slowed Washington’s fast pace
Even a day later, his frustration was evident.
When » Tonight at 7
Where » Nassau Coliseum
TV/Radio » Versus/1500 AM
Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau’s team had lost what he considered a pivotal game on Dec. 7 at Carolina. A chance to put a Southeast Division rival in a deep early-season hole had slipped away in the final minutes and a difficult week loomed. For two days at practice Boudreau’s message was delivered — opportunities like the one at Carolina cannot be missed. The Caps didn’t take long to respond.
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Even with a chaotic lineup that changes almost by the game depending on the latest injured player, Washington won all three games last week — home vs. Boston, the top team in the Eastern Conference, and Ottawa followed by a 2-1 thriller Saturday night in Montreal with rookie goaltender Simeon Varlamov in the net.
That leaves the Caps (18-10-3) comfortably in first place in the division with 39 points — only four teams in the entire NHL have more — and eight ahead of second-place Carolina (13-12-5) and Florida (14-13-3). That’s a nice cushion for a team that has been decimated by injuries.
The Caps hope goalie Brent Johnson (hip) is ready to start tonight’s game at the New York Islanders (10-18-2), who are tied with the fewest points in the league and have lost six in a row and eight of their last nine games. If not, Varlamov will make his second straight start. The 20-year-old Russian made 32 saves in his NHL debut.
Sergei Fedorov (ankle) will not make the trip to New York. Injured forwards Tomas Fleischmann (lower body) and Eric Fehr (shoulder) will make the trip, but are game-time decisions along with defenseman Tyler Sloan (heel).
Tuesday’s game begins another busy week for the Caps, who are in the midst of playing four road games out of five — hosting St. Louis on Thursday as the only respite. Washington finishes the week at Philadelphia.
