Washington Capitals victorious over the Atlanta Thrashers
On Sunday 14 November, the Washington Capitals defeated the Atlanta Thrashers 6-4. The Capitals salvaged the win after giving up the 3-1 lead they held after the first period.
The game got off to a quick start; as the first shot of the game found the back of the Atlanta Thrashers’ net. The shot from Alexander Ovechkin looked like it was going to go wide of the
net, but Atlanta goaltender Chris Mason got his stick on it and that was enough to deflect the puck into the net. The goal was Ovechkin’s 29th against the Thrashers, making him the all-time leading goal scorer against the Atlanta hockey club.
Mason, who brought a 4-0-1 record against Washington into this game, fared no better on the second goal when a Mike Green power play shot deflected into the net off of an Atlanta defenceman,
giving Washington a 2-0 lead halfway through the first period.
Washington goaltender Michal Neuvirth had no better luck at his end of the ice as a shot from Atlanta’s Rich Peverly caromed in off Neuvirth’s back and into the net for an Atlanta goal.
The Capitals scored late in the period on an Alexander Semin goal and the period ended with the Capitals leading 3-1.
The two teams wasted little time getting back to the goal scoring when the second period began. Atlanta’s Andrew Ladd put the puck behind a surprised Neuvirth to bring the score to 3-2.
A little over a minute later Matt Hendricks scored for Washington, putting the Capitals up by two goals. After the Hendricks’ goal, Thrashers coach Craig Ramsey had seen enough and Ondrej Pavelec replaced Chris Mason in the Atlanta net.
The move in net seemed to give the Thrashers some life and they scored the next two goals to tie the game at four. The tying goal was a shorthanded goal. Andrew Ladd stripped the puck
from Ovechkin’s stick and skated in on Neuvirth uncontested. Neuvirth was able to stop the initial shot, but the puck bounced off his helmet and Bryan Little put the puck behind Neuvirth for his second consecutive goal of the period.
Things finally calmed down in the third period and the teams were 13 minutes into the final stanza before Capitals defenceman John Erskine fired a rocket from a few feet inside the blue
line. The shot found the back of the net and gave the Capitals a 5-4 lead. David Steckel later added an empty net goal to secure the game for the Capitals.
The Capitals did not play their best game of the season in front of the home sell out crowd of 18,398 fans, according to head coach Bruce Boudreau.
“We talked in between the second and third (periods). We don’t want to win games 6-4. We don’t want this reputation and that we want to be able to s**t team’s down. Right now we’re doing
it for two periods and we’re having little brain cramps and it’s costing us,” he told reporters after the game.
The win gives the Capitals the best record in the National Hockey League at 13-4-1. The loss puts the Thrashers at 7-8-3.
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