In the first two meetings between the Capitals and Thrashers at Philips Arena this season, the Caps built an early lead but had to stave off a feisty Atlanta bunch late to hang on for a pair of one-goal wins.
Saturday night, Washington got the big lead, but this time Atlanta had no comeback as the Caps crushed the Thrashers 8-1 powered by a pair of goals by both Mike Knuble and Alexander Semin.
The Capitals close out the first half of their season series with the Thrashers going 3-0-0 - and 9-1-0 against the Southeast overall - before an unusual schedule quirk brings the Thrashers to Verizon Center for all three of the remaining contests of the season slate.
It didn't take long for the Caps to grab the lead, as Knuble opened the scoring 4:44 into the contest by tipping in a Top Poti point shot. But the game really turned late in the period when Semin took a puck during a shorthanded effort and spun through the zone and beat starting Atlanta netminder Johan Hedberg for a 2-0 lead with 3:13 left in the frame.
Nicklas Backstrom then continued his hot play with a power-play goal with :19 left in the period for his 14th goal in 18 games and a 3-0 Washington edge, putting in a Mike Green drive for his 18th of the season.
Unlike the previous meetings with the Thrashers, the Capitals remained in command, and after Michal Neuvirth played strong with an 18-save first period, the Thrashers started to wilt.
Knuble getting his second of the game almost at exactly at the same point of the period as his first goal, knocking in an Alex Ovechkin rebound for a 4-0 lead and chasing Hedberg from the net at the 4:43 mark. Atlanta did finally beat Neuvirth with 5:47 left in the period, on a goal originally credited to Colin White but eventually changed to Maxim Afinogenov.
However, the Capitals left little doubt of the outcome in the third period, scoring four times to cap the rout. Semin got his second of the night by blasting in a Tomas Fleischmann feed for his 18th of the campaign at the 6:58 mark of the frame. Dave Steckel then made it 6-1 at the 9:35 mark with a goal past Ondrej Pavelec. Tom Poti then got his first regular-season goal since 2008 with 3:52 to play to make it 7-1, and then Jason Chimera knocked in his first goal as a Cap just :42 later to finalize the score at 8-1.
With the win, Washington wins its third straight and reaches the 60-point mark faster than any point in team history, and also has opened up a large 16-point lead over the Thrashers in the Southeast Division race. The Capitals stand just one point out of first seed in the East behind the Devils and Sabres, pulling to one point back of idle New Jersey and gaining a point on Buffalo, who lost in a marathon 11-round shootout to Colorado at HSBC Arena Saturday night.
The Capitals look to continue their division domination Tuesday night when they pay a visit to the Lightning, then follow that up by heading further south to face the Panthers.
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