by Pete Silver
OffWing Opinion
WASHINGTON D.C. (December 28) – The Washington Capitals suffered their first Southeast Division loss of the season on Monday night, bringing their division record to 8-1.
Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau and players denied a “post-trade hangover,” however, a flat performance against the ailing Carolina Hurricanes tells a different story. Following practice on Monday morning, the Capitals front office announced the trade of team captain Chris Clark and defenseman Milan Jurcina to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Jason Chimera. Chimera is a tall, tough player with 11 goals who now tops the Capitals’ roster with 47 penalty minutes for the year.
“It’s a hard situation for us because we lost our captain and a great guy,” said Washington’s Alex Ovechkin. “They’re both good players, but it’s a business and you can do nothing about it.”
The NHL’s top scoring club managed four shots on goal against the last-place Hurricanes in the first period. Carolina’s Tuomo Ruutu scored off the rebound of Eric Staal’s shot at 7:44. Staal made it 2-0 at 10:14 and Jussi Jokinen scored a third at 14:30. Capitals’ goalie Jose Theodore allowed three goals in the first nine shots, within 6 minutes and 46 seconds.
Washington Capitals’ goalie Jose Theodore (#60) defends the goal behind defenseman
Jeff Schultz (#55) on Monday night against the Carolina Hurricanes in an NHL Hockey
game at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. (Pete Silver/OffWing Photo)
Washington rallied, with goals from Mike Green and Eric Fehr in the second period. Alex Ovechkin brought the crowd to its feet early in the third period with a power play goal cutting the score to a manageable 4-3, but Carolina answered at 10:00 and sealed the game at 18:28 with an empty net goal to win 6-3.
Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin (#8) is swept off his feet while shooting
against the Carolina Hurricanes in an NHL Hockey game. (Pete Silver/OffWing Photo).
“You look at their standings, and you look at how hard they played, [and] I find it hard to believe they are where they are,” Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said. “We know them as a divisional opponent that plays hard against us all the time, and tonight was no exception.”
Game notes
Nicklas Backstrom brought his season penalty minutes to 16, with a a four-minute high-sticking penalty in the first.
Alexander Semin agreed to terms on a one-year, $6 million contract extension on Saturday.
More images from the game and OffWing Photo by clicking below.