Offence remains dormant in D.C.
Plummeting Habs outscored 10-2 during 3-game skid
WASHINGTON – Jason Chimera and Alex Ovechkin scored two quick goals in the second period to give the Washington Capitals a 3-0 lead and they went on to beat the Canadiens 4-1 Friday night at the Verizon Centre.
Mathieu Perreault and Joel Ward scored the other goals for the Capitals, while Rene Bourque scored for the Canadiens. Down in the dumps: It was the third consecutive loss for the Canadiens, who have been outscored 10-2 in that span. Montreal remains in last place in the Eastern Conference with 58 points, eight fewer than the eighth-place Florida Panthers, who also enjoy three games in hand. The Capitals, who had lost three in a row and six of their previous seven are one point behind Florida. Breaking it open: The Capitals scored twice in an 16-second span in the second period to take a 3-0 lead. Alexander Semin sent Chimera into the clear on a breakaway – he had a step on Alexei Emelin – and he jammed the puck under Carey Price’s pads. Price thought he had kept the puck out, but it squirted through and stopped about four inches beyond the goal line at 8:42.
The Capitals came back quickly after Josh Gorges fell while pinching in and Dmitry Orlov set up Ovechkin for a one-timer from the faceoff circle at 8:58.
It was Ovechkin’s 25th of the season and he has 14 goals and 14 assists in 26 games against Montreal. Kaberle caught napping: The Capitals opened the scoring when Perreault came in behind a snoozing Tomas Kaberle and converted Chimera’s pass from the side boards. The Canadiens had trouble clearing their zone and when Tomas Plekanec tried to rim the puck around the boards, Chimera was able to cut it off at the hash marks.
PK provides offence: Bourque, who played one of his best games since joining the Canadiens, spoiled Michal Neuvirth’s shutout bid when he scored a shorthanded goal at 3:42 of the third period. The Canadiens’ penalty-killing unit, which ranks No. 1 in the NHL, was the bright spot as it successfully killed six Washington power plays. Montreal’s power play went 0-for-4. Experience in the press box: Former Canadien Roman Hamrlik, Mike Knuble and Johh Erskine were healthy scratches for Dale Hunter’s Capitals. The three have played a total of 2,815 NHL games. Mathieu Darche missed the game because of the flu, but Petteri Nokelainen returned after missing 14 games with an upper-body injury. What’s next: The Canadiens can’t even get a break from Mother Nature. They’ll be in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., through the 3 p.m. trading deadline Monday. They’re booked into an oceanfront hotel, but the forecast calls for rain during the next three days. The Canadiens play the Florida Panthers Sunday in Sunrise (5 p.m., TSN-A, RDS, TSN Radio-800) and wrap up their road trip Tuesday in Tampa, which is also expecting rain.