sleddy2008
02-10-2010, 06:32 PM
C/P from TSN.ca
The Washington Capitals will try to inch closer to the longest winning streak in NHL history this evening when they visit Montreal and the Bell Centre in the Canadiens first game since Bob Gainey stepped down as general manager.
The action begins on TSN and TSN HD tonight at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt.
The Capitals have won a franchise-best 14 consecutive games, but needed to pull off an impressive comeback on Sunday afternoon to beat the rival Penguins.
Washington fell behind by three goals late in the second period, but battled back to claim a 5-4 overtime victory. Alex Ovechkin notched his first hat trick of the season and saw his shot in overtime ring off the post. However, Mike Knuble was there to bang home the rebound on the power play with 2:11 left.
"It's always nice to win, especially when you are a little bit frustrated in the first [period]," said Ovechkin, who leads the NHL with 42 goals and 86 points. "Game [didn't] go well for us right away. It's nice to come back and win in OT especially."
Eric Fehr also tallied and goaltender Jose Theodore made 31 saves to win his 10th straight start. That ties the club mark set by Pat Riggin in 1983-84.
With 14 straight wins, the Capitals, who haven't lost since January 12 to Tampa Bay, are on the league's longest win streak since the Penguins won 17 straight from March 9-April 10, 1993.
Ovechkin scored two goals in the third period to force overtime, and the star Russian has nine goals and 16 points over a seven-game point streak. Nicklas Backstrom added two assists to run his point streak to eight games, a run in which he has four goals and 13 assists.
The Capitals will play three straight games on the road before the Olympic break and have won five straight as the guest. They own a 25-point edge over the Lightning for first place in the Southeast Division and their 88 points are tops in the NHL.
Defeating Washington will present a tall order for Montreal, which saw its GM Bob Gainey surprisingly step down on Monday. Taking over for Gainey will be Pierre Gauthier, who has served as the assistant general managers since July, 2006.
Gainey had been the Habs' GM since June of 2003 and Montreal went 241-176-46 with seven ties under Gainey, reaching the postseason four times. Gainey's tenure also included a brief role as head coach during the second half of the 2005-06 season.
Gainey stepped down one day after Montreal had a three-game win streak end with a 3-0 setback to Boston. Jaroslav Halak stopped 24 shots for the Canadiens, who were shut out for the sixth time this year.
"We had a slow start in the first period and they came up strong," said Halak. "They were skating much better than us to get the lead, which changed the game. We were better in the second but we couldn't solve their goalie."
Montreal is seventh in East with 62 points, one more than both Philadelphia and Boston. The Canadiens begin a home-and-home set with the Flyers on Friday.
Tonight marks the final scheduled meeting of the regular season between the Canadiens and Capitals. Washington has won two of three this year and six of the last eight meetings overall. The Caps, though, have lost five of their last eight at the Bell Centre.
The Washington Capitals will try to inch closer to the longest winning streak in NHL history this evening when they visit Montreal and the Bell Centre in the Canadiens first game since Bob Gainey stepped down as general manager.
The action begins on TSN and TSN HD tonight at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt.
The Capitals have won a franchise-best 14 consecutive games, but needed to pull off an impressive comeback on Sunday afternoon to beat the rival Penguins.
Washington fell behind by three goals late in the second period, but battled back to claim a 5-4 overtime victory. Alex Ovechkin notched his first hat trick of the season and saw his shot in overtime ring off the post. However, Mike Knuble was there to bang home the rebound on the power play with 2:11 left.
"It's always nice to win, especially when you are a little bit frustrated in the first [period]," said Ovechkin, who leads the NHL with 42 goals and 86 points. "Game [didn't] go well for us right away. It's nice to come back and win in OT especially."
Eric Fehr also tallied and goaltender Jose Theodore made 31 saves to win his 10th straight start. That ties the club mark set by Pat Riggin in 1983-84.
With 14 straight wins, the Capitals, who haven't lost since January 12 to Tampa Bay, are on the league's longest win streak since the Penguins won 17 straight from March 9-April 10, 1993.
Ovechkin scored two goals in the third period to force overtime, and the star Russian has nine goals and 16 points over a seven-game point streak. Nicklas Backstrom added two assists to run his point streak to eight games, a run in which he has four goals and 13 assists.
The Capitals will play three straight games on the road before the Olympic break and have won five straight as the guest. They own a 25-point edge over the Lightning for first place in the Southeast Division and their 88 points are tops in the NHL.
Defeating Washington will present a tall order for Montreal, which saw its GM Bob Gainey surprisingly step down on Monday. Taking over for Gainey will be Pierre Gauthier, who has served as the assistant general managers since July, 2006.
Gainey had been the Habs' GM since June of 2003 and Montreal went 241-176-46 with seven ties under Gainey, reaching the postseason four times. Gainey's tenure also included a brief role as head coach during the second half of the 2005-06 season.
Gainey stepped down one day after Montreal had a three-game win streak end with a 3-0 setback to Boston. Jaroslav Halak stopped 24 shots for the Canadiens, who were shut out for the sixth time this year.
"We had a slow start in the first period and they came up strong," said Halak. "They were skating much better than us to get the lead, which changed the game. We were better in the second but we couldn't solve their goalie."
Montreal is seventh in East with 62 points, one more than both Philadelphia and Boston. The Canadiens begin a home-and-home set with the Flyers on Friday.
Tonight marks the final scheduled meeting of the regular season between the Canadiens and Capitals. Washington has won two of three this year and six of the last eight meetings overall. The Caps, though, have lost five of their last eight at the Bell Centre.