Edmonton take on Washington at Rexall Place

Washington Capitals vs Edmonton Oilers 3-5 (0-2, 2-2, 1-1)

Edmonton made the cyclical goalie change in this one, starting Jonas Hiller, who previous to this one had allowed 9 in his last two games, both losses. Despite Alexander Ovechkin's 23 goals in 29 games, the Capitals were struggling at 11th place in the Eastern Conference, having recorded 12 wins, 13 losses and 4 overtime losses so far.

The first ten minutes of the game were completely devoid of entertainment value, only 4 shots were registered in all during that time. It only took one spark to create the explosion, however, and it was initiated by Russian netminder Gelashvili's poor handling of the puck that gave Greg Moore an easy goal. The opening goal was quickly succeeded by an Oilers power play marker sent home by Lubomir Visnovsky.

As most fanatical statistician fans could predict, Alexander Ovechkin had to net one, and he did a few minutes into the second period, receiving a nice pass from countryman Semin. Washington combined again not long from that, sending a clear message that the Capitals would not back off, roll over or cave in. The message was received by Edmonton, processed and came back in the same fashion - by a swift retaliatory double marker. Gagner first netted another power play goal, from a nice combination of passes, before Penner was set up by Gagner to score his 9th of the year.

It's easier to stir than to settle, and former Calgary Flame Chris Clark stirred both fans and opponents with his timely 3-4 goal just 10 seconds into the 3rd. Edmonton continued to carry out their rushes with precision though, and ex-Cap Brooks Laich managed to finish a nice counter attack off with a goal to make it 5-3 on the PP with ten minutes to go.

Post game: Both teams' first lines dominated this one, but the balance was tipped by Edmonton's superior depth. Sam Gagner led the charge with a brilliant 3 point night, while Jonas Hiller finally registered a win again. Both teams allowed their opponents to free wheel, allowing for quality chances in abundance. In the end, it might just have come down to confidence in finishing.


Scoreboard
1st Period:
EDM - Moore (-)
EDM - Visnovsky (Gagner, Babchuk) PP

2nd Period:
WSH - Ovechkin (Semin, Bäckström)
WSH - Bäckström (Semin, Ovechkin) PP
EDM - Gagner (Hemsky, Babchuk) PP
EDM - Penner (Gagner, Hemsky)

3rd Period:
WSH - Clark (Semin, Bäckström)
EDM - Laich (Penner, Moore) PP


Injuries/Misconducts/Etc.
-

Lines:
Penner - Gagner - Hemsky
Cogliano - Laich - O'Sullivan
Moreau - Stone - Moore
Axelsson - Falardeau - Brule

Babchuk - Visnovsky
Smid - Gilbert
Grebeshkov - Yonkman


Hiller
(Khabibulin)