Capitals Fire on All Cylinders
Defense Is Unyielding, Semin Scores Twice; Kozlov Injured: Capitals 5, Canucks 1

By Tarik El-Bashir
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Vancouver Canucks star goaltender Roberto Luongo came to Washington with a perfect record and a 10-game winning streak against the Capitals, dating from 2004.

But, as Luongo was reminded often at Verizon Center last night, these aren't the same Capitals he dominated in recent seasons.

Alexander Semin had two goals, Mike Green chipped in with another, Michael Nylander scored on a penalty shot and Sergei Fedorov looked right at home on the blueline as Washington routed Luongo and the Canucks, 5-1, for their second consecutive victory.

Luongo wasn't even around for the conclusion of the Canucks' first loss, pulled after 40 minutes with the Capitals holding a 25-3 edge in shots on goal. Luongo's counterpart, Brent Johnson, earned his 100th career NHL win on a night in which he faced only 10 shots, a franchise record. The previous mark was 11.

"It was the defense and it was the forwards coming back," said Johnson, who got his first start of the season as José Théodore got the night off. "Besides the power plays, they might have had the puck in our zone steady maybe for 2 1/2 minutes."

Said Luongo: "I've got no words. It was a tough game from beginning to end."

There was some concern afterward, however, for first-line right wing Viktor Kozlov. He suffered what is believed to be a left leg injury when he was hit in the second period. He limped off the ice and did not return. Officially, he is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, according to a team official.

It's unclear how much, if any, playing time Kozlov will miss. But what wasn't in doubt was Washington's potent offense, which has 13 goals in the first three games.

And last night, the Capitals lit up the scoreboard without any points from reigning most valuable player Alex Ovechkin.

"Bodes well for the balance of the team," Coach Bruce Boudreau said. "If the other guys can keep it up, that's pretty good."

In an effort to shore up the defense against a speedy Canucks team that had scored 11 goals in its first two games, Boudreau shuffled his lineup. The biggest change involved putting Fedorov on the blueline and scratching rugged defenseman John Erskine. Boudreau had experimented in the preseason with Fedorov on defense, a position he has played sporadically throughout his NHL career.

Fedorov had an assist, four shots on goal and a plus-minus rating of plus-3, best on the team. Named the game's third star, his steady play helped partner Milan Jurcina, who had his first plus performance and his first goal in a year. Despite the success, Boudreau would not commit to keeping Fedorov on defense Thursday in Pittsburgh.

"Don't ask me that right now," he said with a smile. "He's played there twice and we've won 5-1 both times."

The Capitals out-shot the Canucks 10-2 in the first period and took a 2-1 lead into the intermission on goals from Semin and Green.

Nylander lost control of the puck as he made a strong move to the net. But it went right to Semin, who opened the scoring at 2 minutes 54 seconds with a backhander.

Vancouver defenseman Alexander Elder tied the game 68 seconds later, marking the second straight game the Capitals' opponent scored on its first shot. (Théodore was scored on 26 seconds into Saturday's 4-2 win over Chicago.)

Green's third goal of the season came on the power play at 16:11 and put the Capitals ahead 2-1. They never looked back.

Jurcina, who has one of the hardest shots on the team but rarely unleashes it, made it 3-1 with a blast from the point at 4:17 of the second period. Jurcina had four shots, one more than Ovechkin.

Sixty-six seconds later, Semin's second goal of the night pushed Washington's lead to 4-1. With the precision of a surgeon, Semin snagged the puck out of a scrum near the side of the net and fired the Capitals' 16th shot over Luongo.

Nylander made it 5-1 with a penalty shot, awarded to him after Willie Mitchell fired a stick that was lying on the ice at Nylander while the Capitals center carried the puck. It was Washington's first successful penalty shot since 2005, ending a span six misses (four by Ovechkin). Nylander, normally a stoic man, pumped both fists repeatedly as he returned to bench after scoring his first goal since Jan. 13.

"I hadn't scored in a long time in a game," Nylander said. "It felt like some sort of relief."