Two third period goals fuel Caps 9th straight Win

By: Justin Creech
Washington, DC—The Washington Capitals earned their 9th straight win Friday night against the Florida Panthers by repeating a familiar trend. The Capitals scored an early first period goal, got solid goaltending, and used a strong third period to close out the victory.

Nicklas Backstrom scored 7:26 into the first period on a power play, Michael Neuvirth stopped 35 of the 36 shots he faced, and the Capitals got early third period goals from Jeff Schultz and Mike Knuble, who also scored a goal in the second period, to secure a 4-1 win over Southeast Division rival, the Florida Panthers.

The Capitals are now within one game of tying the franchise record for consecutive wins at 10, which was set by the 1983-84 edition of the Capitals.

“Nope, sorry it hasn’t sunk in,” said a jovial Bruce Boudreau after the game. “It’ll sink in later as six game win streaks do. It’ll be nice if it happens, but it’s not our goal.”

Schultz scored on a slap shot from the point that found its way through traffic at 4:46 of the third period to give the Capitals a 3-1 lead. Knuble followed with his second goal of the game on a wrist shot from the right circle on a pass from Backstrom for the game’s final margin.

It was Knuble’s fourth multiple-goal game of the season, and with his assist is his ninth multiple-point effort. His 11 goals this month match the best goal-scoring month of his career.

“Linemates,” said Knuble of his play this month. “You’re talking arguably two of the top young guys in the league, if not the world. So, I’ve just been able to find a way to play with these guys and compliment them and we’re cling and playing good in our own end.”

The big story of the night, though, was the apparent injury to defenseman Mike Green. Green took a knee on knee hit from the Panthers Dmitry Kulikov with a little more than three minutes to go in the second period.

Green was chasing a puck into the Panthers zone, and after poking further down the ice attempted to cut across a charging Kulikov. However, Green’s right knee connected with Kulikov’s right knee, sending Green to the ice. Green lay on the ice for several minutes before being helped off by the Capitals’ trainers.

Brendan Morrison was assessed a two-minute roughing penalty for grabbing Kulikov around the neck, but the more pressing matter was Green’s health.

“I tried to jump out of the way because I saw him coming,” said Green of the hit. “But, it kind of caught my knee. It’s not serious.”

Green said he took the hit in the upper knee area, and the injury was more of a Charley Horse then an actual injury to his knee.

Boudreau said he thought Green was a little careless in his decision to cut across Kulikov, an assessment that Green agreed with.

“I was just trying to get the puck deep,” said Green. “It was behind me and I [saw] him coming, so I didn’t want to turn it over and I just got it deep and tried to jump out of the way and it happens.”

Green attempted to come out for the third period, but was told to go back to the locker room with the outcome of the game no longer in question. Green and Boudreau both said they expect him to play on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

With Panthers’ Captain Bryan McCabe in the penalty box for hooking, Mike Green skated into the Capitals’ zone and dished to Knuble who was coming down the right wing. Knuble’s backhand was stopped by Panthers netminder Tomas Vokoun, but Backstrom reached between Knuble’s legs with his stick and pushed the puck into the net.

The goal was Backstrom’s 22nd of the season in his 54th game, matching his previous career high set last season in 82 games.

The Panthers did tie the game at 4:22 of the second period on a goal by Stephen Weiss, but Knuble scored 25 seconds later after Ovechkin’s rebound attempt deflected in off Knubles’ left skate.