Caps 5, Philadelphia Flyers 3
Well, it wasn’t an 8-2 blowout. But Sunday’s game at Verizon Center was a good character win for the Caps. They trailed 1-0 and 2-1 to the Flyers in the first period, but took control in the second period. Brooks Laich had a breakthrough game, ending a one-goal-in-18-games drought with a pair of goals and an assist. He was helped by a morning meeting with coach Bruce Boudreau. Laich – as always – had plenty of interesting things to say afterwards. A sampling:
“[Boudreau] cut up the from the Toronto game [on Friday] and wanted to go over my shifts with me this morning before the game. And then this morning I watched the Florida game, too, so I was just looking at how I was playing. We went through the shifts from the Toronto game and at the end of it we discussed what we saw. And the term he used was ‘You’re kind of just existing out there.’ And the term I used was that ‘It kind of looked uninspired’ – the way I was playing.
Boudreau told Laich that he had to strip down his game and get back to basics – use his exceptional skating to generate chances. After Laich scored his first one on Sunday he chuckled to himself as he skated towards the bench and yelled ‘You’re unbelievable!” at Boudreau.
“He’s an amazing coach,” Laich said. “He’s got his hands all over the game. I don’t know if any of you have read his book [Gabby: Confessions of a Hockey Lifer]. I told him once that [former Caps center Sergei] Fedorov told me he compared [Boudreau] to Scotty Bowman – just in his feel for the game. That’s why I had to reiterate that comment towards him.”
Strong words there. Bowman is a hockey legend – a Hall-of-Famer with nine Stanley Cups to his name in Montreal, Pittsburgh and Detroit. Boudreau putting Laich in during the shootout against Florida on Wednesday was a big step for Laich, too. He was still struggling at the time and if he missed the Panthers would have won that game. But he scored and the Caps went on to win it during the next round.
“It was a confidence-boost that Bruce put me in there,” Laich said. “Because you’ve got a guy that hasn’t scored in ages and he puts you in on the shootout when the game is on the line. It means that no matter what the coach has faith in you and you want to reward him for it. Bruce could have been a hero or a goat there. But when I scored it it was nice to know the puck still fit in the net. A lot of guys said afterwards that this will kick-start you and get you going. Hopefully it does.”
Laich later added: “Sometimes as players we look at the forest before the trees. You want to play so well but you forget the reason you’re playing well is 1) because you skate, 2) because you compete and 3) because you’re positionally sound and not cheating. There’s reasons why you’re playing well and reasons why you’re not. I kind of got in a bit of a rut there where I was trying to put a fire out with gasoline, where I was just compounding problem after problem. I was working too hard and I was not relaxed and then I was too relaxed and I was not working hard enough. I just couldn’t find my game.”
Caps Notes
» The Caps are now 30-12-6 and with 66 points lead the Eastern Conference again. This is the latest the Caps have ever been alone in first in the conference. They have played 48 games now and have 34 remaining. Washington has won three in a row and six of its last seven.
» Washington continues to lead the NHL in goals scored. They have scored four goals or more in seven straight games. The last such streak was over the final seven games of the 2008-09 season when they also scored four or more in seven straight. The Caps are averaging 3.79 goals per game. That puts them on pace for 311 goals.
» Alex Ovechkin recorded his 30th goal of the season on a penalty shot – the first time in his career he has scored that way. Ovechkin was previously 0-for-5. He has points in six consecutive games, tying a season high. Ovechkin’s four shots on goal give him an astounding 2,000 for his career in just four-and-a-half seasons. No player in NHL history has had 2,000 shots in their six full years. He is just three points (64) behind NHL points leader Henrik Sedin (67) of Vancouver. Ovechkin is tied with Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby with 30 goals. They are second in the NHL behind San Jose’s Patrick Marleau. Ovechkin does lead the league in goals per game (.75).
» Ovechkin also assisted on Mike Knuble’s first period goal. Knuble now has six goals in his last six games and 13 overall in just 36 games played because of a broken left pinkie.
» Caps D Tom Poti has two goals and seven assists in his last nine games and is a +8 during that stretch.
» With Laich’s two goals, the Caps have now had multiple-goal games 34 times this season. Nine different players have accomplished that feat – though none has earned a hat trick. No other NHL team had more than 23 multi-goal games entering play Sunday.
» Right wing Alex Semin had another good game as he continues to battle a sore wrist that’s kept him out of practice recently. He assisted on Laich’s goal and now has 11 points (six goals, five assists) over the last seven games.
» Caps D Mike Green extended his point streak to eight games. It is the third time he’s had a streak that long this season – the only NHL player to do so.
» Plus players on Sunday: Ovechkin (+2), Laich (+2), and Alex Semin (+2). Defensemen Shaone Morrisonn (+2) and John Carlson (+2) were also solid. With John Erskine (upper-body injury) feeling better and skating Sunday morning at Kettler, Carlson may not be at practice on Monday with the Caps. It’s scheduled for 11 a.m. at Kettler and a trip back to AHL Hershey is possible. Bruce Boudreau wouldn’t confirm that after the game – but conceded the possibility.
» Caps wanted to stay out of the box tonight, but didn’t do a great job at it. They took six minors and gave Philadelphia five power plays. The Flyers were 2-for-5 with the man-advantage. Unfortunately for them, the Caps converted their lone power-play chance – Alex Semin’s goal at 7:05 of the second – and scored on Laich’s shorthanded tally. Philadelphia also outshot Washington 33-20. That’s a season-low for Washington. Previous low was 23 at Montreal on Nov. 28. Washington won that game, too – 4-3 in a shootout.
Notable Quotable
Bruce Boudreau on goalie Jose Theodore, who stopped 30 of 33 Philadelphia shots
“He steadied the course and made us feel comfortable in the second period. We got the lead and I was very secure with him today – as I was the last game.”
Alex Ovechkin on his team scoring at least five goals at home for the third time in seven games. That means a ticket stub from the 18,277 fans in attendance equals 10 free wings at all area Glory Days locations. It’s times like this I really wish I had a ticket to the game and didn’t get in the door for free. Oh well.
“I just wanted to give the fans free chicken wings.”
