New Coach, New Vibe As Caps Win 2nd Straight
Energized Power Play Nets Three Goals for Washington : Capitals 5, Hurricanes 2

By Tarik El-Bashir
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 25, 2007

When the Washington Capitals were last seen on home ice three days ago, the players were booed mercilessly, and derisive chants were directed toward the bench as the Atlanta Thrashers poured it on.

Last night, the vibe inside Verizon Center couldn't have been any more different. Neither could the result.

The Capitals, revitalized by a Thanksgiving day coaching change, scored three goals on the power play for the first time this season, and Olie Kolzig made 35 saves as they knocked off the Southeast Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes, 5-2.

The victory was the Capitals' second in two days, just their third overall at home and gave the team its first winning streak, modest as it is, since the first week of the season. The back-to-back wins -- they defeated the Flyers in Philadelphia, 4-3, in overtime on Friday -- have come under interim coach Bruce Boudreau, who replaced Glen Hanlon on Thursday and seems to have unlocked the team's offensive potential after two months of struggling at even strength and on the power play.

"Once they taste success, you get hungrier for it because it's great to be happy," Boudreau said. "When you're losing, you get dejected. Life is no fun. There's a lot to work on, but it's a great start."

Alex Ovechkin scored twice and Michael Nylander had a goal and two assists as the Capitals controlled play for long stretches against one of the league's best teams. But the story was the power play, which hadn't scored three goals in a game since Feb. 27, a 6-5 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers.

"Obviously, we're playing with a lot more energy in the offensive zone," said Kolzig, who started games on consecutive nights for the first time this season. "As a result, we've scored nine goals in the past two games. And our power play, it's been our Achilles' heel. But we've got the talent in here to be successful on it."

The Capitals opened the game with three straight goals with the man advantage, opening a 3-0 lead. But like Friday at Wachovia Center, they found themselves hanging on in the final minutes.

Carolina winger Ray Whitney curled around the net and redirected a point shot by Glen Wesley 2 minutes 9 seconds into the third period to get the Hurricanes within striking distance, 3-2.

But Kolzig made several critical saves in the clutch, and Ovechkin put it away with his second goal of the night with 1:50 left to play. Boyd Gordon added an empty-net goal to cap the win, their second in three games against the Hurricanes.

Known for his team's aggressive forechecking and power-play wizardry, Boudreau has made some important changes that are already paying off.

The most noticeable difference has come on the power play, where there's more movement from all five players and discernibly more involvement from the defensemen.

"Coach has stressed that the worst thing you can do is stand still because that makes it easy to cover guys," defenseman Tom Poti said.

Nylander added: "Everybody has energy right now. We're playing for 60 minutes and not making mistakes."

Mike Green's goal with the extra man was a prime example. He pinched in from the point, took a crossing pass from Nylander and fired a backdoor one-timer past John Grahame to put the Capitals ahead 1-0 only 3:03 into the game. The goal was Green's fifth this season, and second in two games.

Ovechkin made it 2-0 with the Capitals' second power-play goal of the game at 6:17. Nylander sent the all-star winger a perfectly placed pass from the corner and Ovechkin was on target with his one-timer.

Nylander made it 3-0 at 11:30 of the second, again striking on the power play. With Carolina defenseman Bret Hedican again in the penalty box (he was seated there when Green scored), Nylander gathered a loose puck off a face-off and flipped it past Grahame from point-blank range to put the Capitals ahead 3-0.

"If we have success next week, we're right back in it," Boudreau said, referring to a stretch of four games in six days. "That's the way I'm looking at it."

Capitals Notes: Alexander Semin missed his second consecutive game after tweaking his sprained right ankle in practice on Thursday. After suffering the injury during training camp, the high-scoring winger has returned three times only to sit out again. He said he will play Monday.