Ex-Washington goalie has rough outing in his return; Ovechkin ends scoring drought
So little had changed in six months, save for the new 2007-08 Southeast Division championship banner hanging high above Verizon Center’s ice. The arena’s corridors were familiar, its everyday employees welcoming. Even his former team remained virtually the same with good friend Brent Johnson in the opposing net.
But Monday was still an odd, unsettling experience for Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Olie Kolzig. No longer part of a Capitals organization he called home for 19 years, it was now his job to beat his former teammates, not protect their net.
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But the homecoming he had thought about since the day the NHL schedule was announced last summer didn’t end as Kolzig hoped. He allowed three goals on the first seven Washington shots, putting the Lightning in a hole they could not dig out of as the Caps held on for a 4-2 victory.
“This was as far away from a normal routine as it gets,” said Kolzig, who settled down to stop 22 of the final 23 shots he faced to keep Tampa Bay within striking distance.
“I normally don’t talk to the media after the morning [skate] — and that’s not why it was 3-0 after the first, don’t get me wrong. But after today it’s back to business. I’m glad it’s over.”
The home crowd warmly greeted Kolzig from the moment he skated onto the ice for pregame warm-ups and again when the starting lineups were announced. They even shouted his name during the national anthem.
Early in the first period, the Caps ran a video tribute to Kolzig. The old images flickered across the big scoreboard as the fans roared: Kolzig making an acrobatic save. Kolzig holding up the Vezina Trophy he won in 2000 as the NHL’s top goalie. Kolzig celebrating with his teammates last season after earning his 300th career win.
The 38-year-old stood by the Tampa Bay bench during the timeout, looking up only occasionally at his younger self as he tried not to let the emotion of the moment overwhelm him. In the midst of a professional hockey game sentiment has little place.
“We were down 2-0 and, believe me I was thinking about some other things,” Kolzig said. “I’m not a big fan of being the center of attention like that, but obviously it’s real nice what they did. I wish I could have paid more attention.”
It took just one shot for the Caps to get the jump on their former teammate. Defenseman Tom Poti found space on the left wing and slapped home a pass from Donald Brashear at 8 minutes, 20 seconds of the first period. Just 95 seconds later, on their second shot, defenseman Mike Green did the same on a cross-ice pass from Alex Ovechkin. Eric Fehr provided the winning margin at 16:24 of the first with a one-timer again from the left wing. That primary assist went to Brooks Laich.
“We were just trying to get the puck deep and work their defensemen,” said Fehr, who notched his first goal of the season. “We were moving our legs and finishing our checks. We were working as a team and it felt great.”
It didn’t last, however.
Johnson faced just six shots in the first period as the Caps dominated. But the Lightning responded in the second with 18 shots on goal. Suddenly, instead of being in control, the Caps were trying to hang on. They killed a key four-minute Lightning power play. But Tampa Bay eventually cut the lead to 3-1 on the first of two power-play goals by ageless forward Gary Roberts.
The Lightning fired another 12 shots at Johnson (34 saves) in the third, but he was up to the task other than Roberts’ second goal with 26 seconds left. By then the Caps had already put the game away on a world-class, whirl-and-fire pass from Semin in front to Ovechkin, who tipped home the goal to end a career-long scoreless streak at nine games.
“You never want to diss a win, so it was a good win,” said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. “We must have done some good stuff. But it was frustrating because the Rangers game [on Saturday] was so good.”
The contest was no longer in doubt after Ovechkin’s goal at 15:54 of the third. As the clock wound down the crowd celebrated like NHL fans everywhere: by mocking the opposing goalie. Faint chants of “Olie, Olie” rang out across the upper reaches of Verizon Center, a signal that the emotion of the night had finally subsided.
“I was very flattered with the reception I got,” Kolzig said. “But it felt like a normal game at the end when I was getting my last name chanted like any normal visiting goalie. So to me that shows it’s time to move on. Playing here is never going to be just another road game, but maybe not as emotional as it was today.”
Caps notes
» Scratches for the Caps: Shaone Morrisonn (groin), Sergei Fedorov (lower-body injury) and Viktor Kozlov (undisclosed), who last month struggled with a balky knee.
» Caps goalie Brent Johnson was named NHL third star of the week on Monday after posting a 2-0-1 record with a 1.63 GAA last week. Johnson beat the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Rangers, but his best effort may have been in a 2-1 overtime loss to Ottawa, where he stopped 42 of 44 shots.
» The Caps are now 6-0-1 at Verizon Center this year. Washington is 12-0-1 in its last 13 regular-season home games.
