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Audio Meetings Photo Gallery Postgame Quotes Johnny On The Spot – The particular Washington Capitals have obtained into the habit of winning many high-scoring, firewagon hockey games of late. Therefore, the last two contests – a pair of low-scoring, one-goal extramarital liasons against the Toronto Maple Leafs – have been a departure for Wa. But the Caps eked out any 2-1 win in a squeaker on Thursday night, behind the clutch goaltending of Brent Johnson.
Johnson made frequent helps you to save and he made key conserves throughout the game. He halted a pair of terrific Toronto shorthanded likelihood just seconds before Streams Laich’s power play target gave the Caps any 1-0 lead in the first time period. In the final 10 and a half minutes of the second, the actual Caps were outshot 7-0, but Smith kept Washington’s precarious 1-0 lead intact.
“Tonight they outskated us all,
” said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. “I do believe they played a lot better for dinner than they did last night. Our goalie won us the overall game.”
Johnson has been a backup goaltender within the league for the last four times, the last three with Oregon. As a backup, his commences on home ice usually are few and far between.
After going 2-8-3 at the Verizon wireless Center in 13 will start during his first two seasons using the Capitals, Johnson has surpassed that home ice acquire total in a span of just 10 days. He defeated Ottawa upon Jan. 15, Florida with Jan.
19 and now Higher toronto on Jan. 24 with the Phone Booth.
Johnson won half a dozen games (6-15-7) in his 28 starts for the Capitals last period. He has already matched which win total in 2007-08. Thursday’utes win raised his document to 6-5-1 on the season. He or she is now two wins afraid of the 100 plateau pertaining to his NHL career.
The improvement involving young Caps players for instance Mike Green, Nicklas Backstrom, Alex Ovechkin and others given that Boudreau took over the reins has been documented, but Johnson has been huge in limited duty above the same time span.
In several appearances (six starts), Johnson is 5-1 with a 2.05 desired goals against average and a .926 preserve pct. He has not cast aside more than three goals in a of those six starts, and possesses allowed two or a lesser number of goals in five on the six.
Another Rung on the Step ladder – By virtue of its win over Greater on Thursday, the Lids climbed into sole having second place in the Southeast Division standings, just a single point behind front-running Carolina.
Carolina leads the division with 52 points,
the Caps have 51, the particular third-place Thrashers have 50, the fourth-place Panthers possess 49 and cellar-dwelling Tampa Fresh has 45. Washington has been the only Southeast Division team to collect two points about Thursday.
The Capitals are several points behind the New You are able to Islanders and New York Rangers, the actual co-occupants of the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
Eight is excellent – Washington won a total of simply just eight games in the initial couple of months of the season (8-16-2). The Limits now have eight wins inside month of January (8-3). The overall of eight wins inside a month is the most for the Limits since they won nine games in March, 2002 with what ultimately proved to be a past due and fatal bid for just a playoff berth.
Ovie Watch – Alex Ovechkin failed in his bid to reach the 40-goal skill level before the All-Star break, but this individual did pick up two assists to pull to within anchorman of Tampa By heart Vincent Lecavalier, who began the night as the NHL’s scoring leader along with 66 points.
However, Daniel Alfredsson feasted on Tampa bay Bay goaltending and defense on Thursday night, hanging a new hat trick and four facilitates on the Bolts to hop from 60 to Sixty seven points and jump beyond both Ovechkin and Lecavalier.
Powering Up – Laich’azines first period power perform goal was his initial extra-man tally of the season and the fourth of his NHL career. He or she is the 11th different skater in order to record a power play aim for Washington this season.
White Warm Russian – Viktor Kozlov’s goal inside third period proved to be this game-winner. It was his ninth objective of the season – tying him using Nicklas Backstrom for fourth on the crew – and his fifth in his past four games. Kozlov’s final game-winning tally came on Feb .. 7, 2007 when he ended up being with the Islanders in a 2-0 win over Chicago.