CAPITALS 101

How many of you Caps fans even stuck around to watch the third period?

Well, the ones of you who didn't probably turned it back on if you have a Caps mobile app on your phone.

Capitals 101 "Senators Player to Watch" Erik Karlsson had a hand in three Ottawa Senators goals (1 goal, 2 assists) to help stake the Sens to a 4-0 lead, and the Sens held on for to a 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals Wednesday night at Scotiabank Place.

After starting a four game road trip off with a momentum-building 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers, the Caps were outscored by an ugly 13-5 margin over the remaining three games.

Tomas Vokoun allowed 4 goals on 11 shots before being pulled for the second straight game in favor of Michal Neuvirth, who performed admirably in stopping all 14 shots he faced. Dale Hunter sure voiced his opinion after the game to reporters, laying a lot of the loss on Vokoun.

However, a main problem was once again the ineptitude of a Capitals offense that has failed to score more than three goals since a 4-0 win on Feb. 7 against the Panthers. (A span of six games, and the Caps have scored three just once)

Sure, the Caps put on a barrage of shots (35) on Craig Anderson, but the bulk of those came after the Caps were faced with a 2-0 deficit for the fifth time in six games. (Ugh.) You just aren't going to win many hockey games going down 2-0 every game.

Unlike the 5-0 loss in Carolina on Monday, the Caps can take some positives away from the way they played in the third period leading into Friday's contest against Montreal at the Verizon Center.

John Carlson (new career best eighth goal) and Mathieu Perreault (off the face) each scored in third period to cut a 4-0 deficit in half before the final frame was halfway done. Carlson's power play goal just so happened to be the Capitals first power play goal by a person not named Alex since Jan. 13.

However, Craig Anderson (four straight victories) made several dazzling saves over the course of the final ten minutes (think Chimera breakaway, Halpern short-side in close) before Nick Fogliano scored his first goal in 18 games on an empty-netter with 1:13 to play.

The Caps remain two points out of a playoff spot and the division lead as Florida, Toronto, and Winnipeg all sat idle tonight. Now its back to scoreboard watching for Caps fans.

On Thursday night, the Panthers play the Minnesota Wild to close out their four game homestand (they've lost the first three). The Toronto Maple Leafs will play the Pacific Division-leading San Jose Sharks, and the Winnipeg Jets will face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning, winners of three straight.

Now the question is, who do you start in goal on Friday against the Montreal Canadiens? (Vokoun is 16-5-1 at the Verizon Center, but Neuvy played awful well in deserving the next start)

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