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Slow Start Sinks the Capitals
Devils goalie Martin Brodeur stops a shot by Washington's Tomas Fleischmann. New Jersey has won nine in a row.
(Jim McIsaac - Getty Images)
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The Capitals' first game at the Devils' gleaming new rink in downtown Newark was indeed one to forget.
New Jersey's Vitaly Vishnevski picked off a careless pass by Capitals defenseman Brian Pothier at the blueline. Vishnevski raced down the slot and beat Kolzig with a backhander at 11:42 of the first period to put the Devils ahead 1-0. It was Vishnevski's first goal since December 2006.
"We didn't play good enough to win, or we would have won," Boudreau said. "That was a horrible giveaway for the first goal, and Olie should have had the save. He's too good a goalie to let those things go in."
Capitals defenseman Jeff Schultz was sent to the penalty box a few minutes later for tripping Jamie Langenbrunner. Just before Schultz's penalty was due to expire, though, a Devil with a familiar name made the Capitals pay.
Dainius Zubrus, a former Capital, jammed a rebound past a sprawled Kolzig at 15:57 to send New Jersey into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead.
Washington limped into Newark with the worst record in the NHL and three of its most important players sidelined with various injuries. First-line forwards Chris Clark (strained groin muscle) and Michael Nylander (undisclosed injury) were sidelined, as was checking-line specialist Boyd Gordon (broken right hand).
As a result, the Capitals enlisted the help of minor leaguers Quintin Laing and Joe Motzko, who came into the night with a combined 19 games of NHL experience.
But Kolzig pointed to the weak start, not the injuries, as the reason for the loss.
"They weren't in there," he said of the injured players. "There's not much you can say about that. That's the hand we were dealt. We made a valiant effort at the end, but it wasn't enough."
Capitals Notes: Former Devils captain Scott Stevens was honored during a pregame ceremony for his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame last month. The hard-hitting defenseman broke in with Washington and played there from 1982 to 1990. . . . Defensemen Steve Eminger and John Erskine were healthy scratches.
