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Bench Warmer
Alex Ovechkin got Washington off to a good start. Semyon Varlamov bailed out the Capitals the rest of the way.
Ovechkin scored twice to add to his NHL-leading total, Varlamov turned away 38 shots -- including a penalty shot -- and the first-place Capitals survived a wild finish for their sixth straight win, 4-3 over the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday night.
The Thrashers lost their fourth straight -- all by one goal. This was their first contest without star Ilya Kovalchuk, who's expected to miss three to five weeks because of a broken right foot.
"He's a big part of their team," Ovechkin said. "Of course they missed him, but it is what it is."
The Capitals built a 3-0 lead and were still on top -- barely -- after three goals in the last 2:23, including an empty-netter by Washington's Mike Knuble and Zach Bogosian's second goal of the game for Atlanta just before the buzzer.
Varlamov stopped Jim Slater on a penalty shot in the first period and kept coming up big when Atlanta dominated over the final two periods. Washington went through an 11-minute span with one shot on goal and was outshot 41-32 after holding a 13-7 edge in the first period.
"He saved the game," Ovechkin said of Varlamov.
Atlanta dropped below .500 for the first time after a 4-1 start, and it's easy to see why. They have trailed by three goals in their last three games, then come up just short in comebacks.
"We can't put ourselves behind the 8-ball," Rich Peverley said. "We have got to manage the game better."
Ovechkin opened the scoring just past the midway point of the first period, ripping a power-play goal past Ondrej Pavelec from the top of the left circle. Just under 5 minutes later, Ovechkin scooped up a loose puck after Maxim Afinogenov fell down, took off on a breakaway and snapped a shot over Pavelec's glove hand.
The Washington star had not scored a goal in his last five games against the Thrashers. He took care of that with his 12th and 13th of the season.
Ovechkin also assisted on Washington's third goal with a nifty pass, threading the puck all the way across the crease with Atlanta a man down. Brendan Morrison stopped the puck with his right skate and got off a shot that deflected in off the glove of Pavelec at 4:10 of the second period.
Down 1-0, the Thrashers had a chance to get back in the game when Slater was dragged down from behind by Brooks Laich and received a penalty shot.
Slater, playing for the first time since opening night, cut to his left and tried to put a wrist shot past Varlamov. The Washington goalie slid over to smother it between his right arm and chest.
Atlanta finally broke through early in the third on a power play that carried over from the previous period. Bogosian pinched in toward the left circle and one-timed a shot just under the crossbar with Varlamov screened in front by 6-foot-4 defenseman Shaone Morrisonn.
But Varlamov came up big the rest of the way, blocking several good scoring chances. He got in front of a point-blank shot from Bryan Little and stopped a short-handed breakaway by Tobias Enstrom.
Atlanta had a chance to complete the comeback when Todd White took a long pass from Slava Kozlov and scored on a breakaway with 2:23 remaining to make it 3-2. But Knuble scored into an open net with 52.1 seconds left, making Bogosian's goal at the buzzer moot.
Ovechkin scored twice to add to his NHL-leading total, Varlamov turned away 38 shots -- including a penalty shot -- and the first-place Capitals survived a wild finish for their sixth straight win, 4-3 over the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday night.
The Thrashers lost their fourth straight -- all by one goal. This was their first contest without star Ilya Kovalchuk, who's expected to miss three to five weeks because of a broken right foot.
"He's a big part of their team," Ovechkin said. "Of course they missed him, but it is what it is."
The Capitals built a 3-0 lead and were still on top -- barely -- after three goals in the last 2:23, including an empty-netter by Washington's Mike Knuble and Zach Bogosian's second goal of the game for Atlanta just before the buzzer.
Varlamov stopped Jim Slater on a penalty shot in the first period and kept coming up big when Atlanta dominated over the final two periods. Washington went through an 11-minute span with one shot on goal and was outshot 41-32 after holding a 13-7 edge in the first period.
"He saved the game," Ovechkin said of Varlamov.
Atlanta dropped below .500 for the first time after a 4-1 start, and it's easy to see why. They have trailed by three goals in their last three games, then come up just short in comebacks.
"We can't put ourselves behind the 8-ball," Rich Peverley said. "We have got to manage the game better."
Ovechkin opened the scoring just past the midway point of the first period, ripping a power-play goal past Ondrej Pavelec from the top of the left circle. Just under 5 minutes later, Ovechkin scooped up a loose puck after Maxim Afinogenov fell down, took off on a breakaway and snapped a shot over Pavelec's glove hand.
The Washington star had not scored a goal in his last five games against the Thrashers. He took care of that with his 12th and 13th of the season.
Ovechkin also assisted on Washington's third goal with a nifty pass, threading the puck all the way across the crease with Atlanta a man down. Brendan Morrison stopped the puck with his right skate and got off a shot that deflected in off the glove of Pavelec at 4:10 of the second period.
Down 1-0, the Thrashers had a chance to get back in the game when Slater was dragged down from behind by Brooks Laich and received a penalty shot.
Slater, playing for the first time since opening night, cut to his left and tried to put a wrist shot past Varlamov. The Washington goalie slid over to smother it between his right arm and chest.
Atlanta finally broke through early in the third on a power play that carried over from the previous period. Bogosian pinched in toward the left circle and one-timed a shot just under the crossbar with Varlamov screened in front by 6-foot-4 defenseman Shaone Morrisonn.
But Varlamov came up big the rest of the way, blocking several good scoring chances. He got in front of a point-blank shot from Bryan Little and stopped a short-handed breakaway by Tobias Enstrom.
Atlanta had a chance to complete the comeback when Todd White took a long pass from Slava Kozlov and scored on a breakaway with 2:23 remaining to make it 3-2. But Knuble scored into an open net with 52.1 seconds left, making Bogosian's goal at the buzzer moot.
