Columbus (6-5-1) at Washington (8-2-3)

  • Game info: 5:00 pm EST Sun Nov 1, 2009
  • TV: FSOH, CSN

By ALAN FERGUSON, STATS Writer Oct 31, 3:04 pm EDT

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Alex Ovechkin(notes) continued his scoring binge, but he couldn’t help the Washington Capitals further their lengthy win streak.

Ovechkin will try to help the Capitals bounce back Sunday against the only team to keep him goalless in multiple games last season, the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Capitals (8-2-3) had their six-game run snapped in Friday night’s 4-3 overtime loss to the visiting New York Islanders, but Ovechkin opened the scoring with his fifth goal in three games and league-leading 14th.

Washington, however, blew that one-goal advantage and another in the second period after Tomas Fleischmann(notes) scored back-to-back goals, his first two this season.

“A lot of these games we’ve escaped,” forward Brendan Morrison(notes) said. “We just didn’t put them away when we had the chance.”

Ovechkin could have new linemates Sunday as coach Bruce Boudreau indicated he’s given serious consideration to breaking up the team’s top line featuring the two-time Hart Trophy winner, Nicklas Backstrom(notes) and Alexander Semin(notes).

“I thought they were way too fancy and way too cute,” Boudreau said. “They could have had four or five goals if they were really sharp. That’s why sometimes you want to break that line up because they look for each other instead of shooting the puck.”

That could help Ovechkin and the Capitals end their respective droughts against the Blue Jackets (6-5-1).

Behind Calder Trophy-winning goaltender Steve Mason(notes), Columbus posted a pair of 3-0 victories over Washington and was the only team to keep the Southwest Division champions from scoring in 2008-09.

Mason, though, has struggled through much of this season, posting a 3.48 goals-against average in 10 starts. He’s also 1-3-1 with a 4.53 GAA in his last five starts, which include all three losses during Columbus’ current skid (0-2-1).

He was second in the league as a rookie with a 2.29 GAA and had an NHL-best 10 shutouts.

Mason had the chance to end that losing streak Friday night but couldn’t stop Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby’s(notes) shot from trickling over the line in a 4-3 shootout defeat.

“It hit my stick and I didn’t get it settled until it was over the line,” Mason said. “It just trickled over, and I was too late on it.”

Before the shootout, the Blue Jackets failed to hold a 2-0 lead given to them by Rick Nash(notes). Since beginning the season by winning five of six, Columbus is 1-4-1 despite holding a lead or being tied in four of those defeats.

“We’re not closing games,” Nash said. “We are a team that needs to learn how to play with the lead.”

Mathieu Garon(notes), who is 1-1-0 with a 2.61 GAA, didn’t make a great case for more playing time by blowing a three-goal lead in Edmonton on Oct. 22. He is 2-1-1 with a 2.23 GAA in four career starts against the Capitals.

Washington’s Jose Theodore(notes) has alternated losses and wins in the last five meetings, including a defeat Jan. 9 at the Verizon Center. Semyon Varlamov(notes), who has started 5-0-0 despite a 3.20 GAA, has never faced the Blue Jackets.

Before getting swept last season, the Capitals were 6-1-0 with one tie all-time against Columbus, and Ovechkin scored four goals in his previous two matchups.

Updated Oct 31, 3:04 pm EDT
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Team Comparison

Team G W L OTL Pts Standings GF GA Road/Home
Columbus 23 12 8 3 27 3rd, Central 72 84 6-6-1 Road
Washington 25 14 5 6 34 1st, Southeast 87 73 8-2-3 Home

Notes

Last game: 6-5 loss vs. Detroit, April 23 Series: Lost Western Conference quarterfinals, 4-0 The best season in franchise history came to a screeching halt as the Blue Jackets were swept by the Red Wings in their first-ever playoff series. ... Columbus converted both of its power-play opportunities but allowed Detroit to score three times on six chances. ... RW Jakub Voracek registered a team-high six shots on goal. ... C R.J. Umberger scored three of the Blue Jackets' seven goals in the series. ... Columbus rallied from a pair of two-goal deficits before allowing a power-play goal with 47 seconds remaining in the third period.

Apr 23, 11:09 pm EDT

The Capitals became the 21st team in NHL history to win a best-of-seven playoff series after losing three of the first four games. ... This was the second straight year in which Washington forced a Game Seven after being down three games to one. Last season, the Capitals lost the seventh game at home in overtime to the Philadelphia Flyers in the conference quarterfinals. ... Washington outshot New York, 13-1, in the third period. ... LW Donald Brashear began serving his suspension for his actions prior to and during Game Six. The enforcer received a one-game ban for initiating contact with New York's Colton Orr during pregame warmups on Sunday and a five-game suspension for a blind-side hit on Blair Betts during the contest. ... RW Chris Clark made his first appearance since January 27. The captain had been sidelined with a wrist injury that required surgery.

Apr 28, 11:36 pm EDT
NHL

50 Comments

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  1. Nwaf A
    50. Posted by Nwaf A Mon Nov 2 8:49pm EST

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    tha coaching staff is hurmorless then the team wont be fun to play for and the franchise will suck becuse of that.
  2. Nwaf A
    49. Posted by Nwaf A Mon Nov 2 6:25pm EST

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    cindy h woow are you cindy the baby crosby. well you pens fans are a bunch of morons if you actually like stinking crosby, malkin i dont mind but crosby what a stinking @#$%.
  3. Chris C
    48. Posted by Chris C Mon Nov 2 2:47pm EST

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    I'm a Caps and Ovechkin fan and i take no joy in Malkin being hurt as well as Kovalchuk.
  4. dropthegloves
    47. Posted by dropthegloves Mon Nov 2 11:59am EST

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    Wow! that is a bad news. Alex Ovechkin is hurting? Is that right? According to Yahoo sports reports. I couldn't careless. I am a King's fan. Kings have been playing well. They have a two game losing streak both on shoot out. Kings take on Coyotes tonight @ jobing.com arena in Phoenix. Coyotes surprise a lot of people. Ilya Bryzalov has been playing well. His Goal Against Average is 1.14. Kings, Coyotes, and Avalanche surprise a lot of people. They are playing well. Go Kings!
  5. the-bearded-one
    46. Posted by the-bearded-one Mon Nov 2 11:17am EST

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    The post-lockout NHL seems to be finding its stride. TV ratings are soaring both nationally and in many local markets; attendance is up; and there are a plethora of young, exciting stars who will give both Ovetchkin and Crosby a run for their money when it comes to highlights clips. With all that noted, the NHL should be concerned about the inordinate number of injuries, especially to marquis players: Ovetchkin, Malkin, Savard, Toews, Hossa, Gonchar, half of Detroit, Gaborik, Luongo, Gagne, etc. (I'm sure I missed many.) That's not good for the player's respective teams or for the league in general. I love hard hits as much as anyone, but players are so much bigger and faster when compared to just a decade ago. The NHL needs to recognize the risk for injury has been compounded exponentially and the time has come for officiating to protect the health and well-being of its players. Scrums shouldn't end up in even-up calls, and overzealous hits with an intent to injure should result in stiff fines and/or suspensions. I'm a Pens fan but take no joy in Ovetchkin being hurt.
  6. cindyh
    45. Posted by cindyh Mon Nov 2 10:46am EST

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    Nwaf a, brian s, evrytime i get on the Penguins web site, you two are always talkin smack... and now that the shoe is on the other foot, you two don't have much to say do you!!!...Pens fans are nothin like you two... we don't go around hoping for the worst for someone that's been injured...we want Ovie to be at his best, so when the Pens kick his a$$, there won't be any excuses...relaxe, rest up, get healthy, then get ready...remember the ole saying, what goes around comes around...
  7. DON_DOC_IN
    44. Posted by DON_DOC_IN Mon Nov 2 10:33am EST

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    I just love Nash's picture in the 3 stars section...Or is that Kelly Hrudey with a beard??????
  8. Kris
    43. Posted by Kris Mon Nov 2 9:53am EST

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    #41 Nwaf A - The Cleveland Browns' suckage has been the rule, not the exception, no matter how joyless the head coach is.
  9. da fat man
    42. Posted by da fat man Mon Nov 2 9:47am EST

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    @ pink wing nut....I noticed Calgary had the same trouble on Saturday, losing to some bottom feeders?
  10. Garrett
    41. Posted by Garrett Mon Nov 2 9:21am EST

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    June- Manning you are by far the biggest @#$%in idiot to come across this blog

    and by the way mike green is so overrated. I admit the guy puts up points which is good. but his defensive skill is horrible. He should just play forward. #1 reason why he'll never win the norris.
  11. Nwaf A
    40. Posted by Nwaf A Mon Nov 2 9:00am EST

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    wooow its funny how much people actually hate the best forward in the league. who ever hates alex is a douchbag.

    skip CHILDISH ANTICS IN ANY SPORT HOCKEY BASKETBALL FOOTBALL BASEBALL IF YOU DONT HAVE FUN THEN YOU WONT BE SUCCESSFUL AT WHAT YOU DO LOOK AT CLEVELAND BROWNS WITH THE HUMORLESS ERIC MANGINI THEY SUCK BAD NOW. SO CHILDISH ANTICS OR NOT YOU ARE THE ONE THAT NEEDS TO GROW UP.

    june- manning seriously start learning hockey then start blogging again.
  12. DON_DOC_IN
    39. Posted by DON_DOC_IN Mon Nov 2 8:22am EST

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    Lots of people that get tangled up with Raffi get hurt. That guy is a bull! Hopefully he is not out for long.
  13. Brian S
    38. Posted by Brian S Mon Nov 2 6:36am EST

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    Dutch.....Don't go pretending you care about Ovie. I've seen your posts on the Pens sites.
    You two-faced slimebag.
    Go Caps!!!!!
  14. iggypoohorg
    37. Posted by iggypoohorg Mon Nov 2 6:31am EST

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    what is with this 27-28 must be a woman or at least dresses like one
  15. Jim
    36. Posted by Jim Mon Nov 2 6:15am EST

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    Sorry to hear about Ovechkin. Hopefully he will be back soon. He's a lot of fun to watch.

    #26-I didn't see any blatant tilt towards Columbus. I saw a lot of missed calls both ways actually.

    #13-Thanks to Dutch for the props. Nice win Friday night for you guys.

    #23 &24-Whatever
  16. Kanay D
    35. Posted by Kanay D Mon Nov 2 1:41am EST

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    @ 29, real classy. I bet you're a closet Pens fan too. Douche bag.
  17. RAVENS www.gearupforsports.com
    34. Posted by RAVENS www.gearupforsports.com Mon Nov 2 1:33am EST

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    how would you not involved Ovie in your team's plans if available? And how can you say that he would be nothing without Green and Backstrom because they feed him open nets? have you ever watched Ovechkin play a game? Open nets are hardly where his success comes from. He plays hard, has a passion for the game, brings a flavor that is obviously attractive to people, as hockey in D.C. has seen a huge rise in it's following, and he does great things on the ice. He has talent that is hard to be matched. All you have to do is watch a highlight reel of the kid and you'll see that your assumption that the players around him make him what he is is completely off-center.
  18. Thomas T
    33. Posted by Thomas T Mon Nov 2 1:27am EST

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    Hmm. Sorry.. ! Are you guys from the past ?????????

    Wishing a hockey player or a sportsman an Injury (Skip Wrote " wish he would suffer a career ending injury and soon." ) hat nothing to do with sportsmanship. These type of people are just dumb and has never done sports in your life rathere playing with themselves in all aspects.

    I am hawk fan, even if i hate detroit, that their players like yzermann, Lidstorm, Datsuyk has to leave the hockey game for ever..

    I think you canadian are really jealousiy about that nobody is talking about Sissy than AO. They both are great players.. and even without AO and SC war... the Blogs would be boring even :-)
  19. <i>june_manning</i>
    32. Posted by june_manning Mon Nov 2 12:31am EST

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    I wouldnt let Ovechkin sharpen my teams skates, let alone "lead" them straight into the losing column. Ovie would be nothing with out Green and Bacstrom feeding him open nets. He is a distraction and it confuses me how he is rewarded with a huge contract for his ridiculous on ice antics.
  20. La La Land
    31. Posted by La La Land Mon Nov 2 12:18am EST

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    Ovechkin would be poison for the Penguins.
  21. HOOK
    30. Posted by HOOK Mon Nov 2 12:04am EST

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    Check it out. Skip Bayless is on the message board (#29).
  22. HOOK
    29. Posted by HOOK Mon Nov 2 12:02am EST

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    Good to hear that Ovechkin is only Day to Day. It looks like he got a left arm/shoulder injury. All of y'all that talk so much s*** about Ovie are pretty dumb. You know you would kill to have Ovie on your team.
  23. <i>june_manning</i>
    28. Posted by june_manning Sun Nov 1 10:43pm EST

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    Losing Ovechkin is nothing but good for the Caps. He is a one way hockey player and very selfish. We will finally be albe to see Washington at their full potential while Backstrom puts the team on his shoulders.
  24. <i>june_manning</i>
    27. Posted by june_manning Sun Nov 1 10:43pm EST

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    Losing Ovechkin is nothing but good for the Caps. He is a one way hockey player and very selfish. We will finally be albe to see Washington at their full potential while Backstrom puts the team on his shoulders.
  25. Chris C
    26. Posted by Chris C Sun Nov 1 10:19pm EST

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    Give me a break folks the officiating in this game was terrible. It was tilted towards Columbus for some reason. In addition we did beat the flyers on tuesday past and the officiating was once again horrible. The other three losses i went to on the season at least the officiating was reasonable but despicable in these two games. Glad that we won 1 of them.
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