Emery vs. Kolzig in net.

the Sens are 13-1, THE BEST START IN NHL HISTORY.....

once again Poti, Bourque play, Jurcina is back, and Erskine, Sutherby, Eminger are the scratches.

Game on, and at :27 gone, the Sens get an odd man break and Kolzig with a HUGE save already. Yikes. 

2:36 gone, Poti trips a guy (Kelly) and heads for the box.

First PP to the Sens.... a missed pass clears at 1:33... back in quickly... blocked out of the zone by Laich at :43... back in... cleared again... back in with only a few secs left, and killed and out of play. Pretty good work, really.

Pretty quick period with few stoppages, Kolzig with his second big save off a Kelly shot, and at 13:04 left 1st they're still 0-0.

TV timeout.

11:08 left 1st, the Caps get a PP of their own... it takes a while to set up, and the sens clear... back in with 1:05 left PP, Emery save at :54... faceoff, cleared at :50... trouble, but back in at :34... cleared at about :17... killed. 

At about 8:15 left 1st, Nylander's out for a few with a skate problem... Olie with another big save around the 7:50 mark... Ovechkin's playing D as well tonight, and they're talking up two of his huge backchecks... still time is flying, under 6:00 left 1st... Emery good save at 5:48... Nylander's back... Kolzig another terrific save at 3:50... 3:25, another TV timeout.

Caps get a late PP, and it will carry over with 1:48 coming in the 2nd.

0-0, end 1st.

The stats say a very even game:

SOGs 10-9 Caps (and the SOG/blocked/missed totals are 19-18 Sens)

hits are 7-7

Blocks are 6-6

faceoffs are 50% each (9/18)

score is 0-0. Not bad, for the last against the first. 40 minutes to go, though.

2nd on, 1:48 of PP for the Caps... cleared at 1:24... again, around 1:04... tic-tac to Ovechkin, and Emery makes the save, :41 PP... cleared at :33... in at :21... cleared at :11... killed.

15:44 left 2nd the Caps on the PP again, and Nylander breaks his stick with a wide open net in front of him... Emery comes up big when he has to, and they're at 1:00 left PP... Emery again, first on Fleishmann, then on Green... killed.

Kolzig big save at 12:31, but atripping call on the play puts the sens on the PP again.

TV timeout.

Cleared at 1:35 PP, back in at 1:22... oops. Here's the game- Poti to the box again with 1:03 still on the first PP, it's a 5 on 3 for over a minute... Kolzig BIG glove save at :44 of the 2-manner... now Steckel breaks his stick on the 2-man, :25 left... off the post at :11... it's back to 5 on 4, and with :50 left on the PP we get a stoppage.

The Sens keep it in and move it around, but- nothing gets through to Kolzig!

Killed! Possibly the game, the season, and Hanlon's job, right there!

 

 

Earlier, I missed Volchenkov getting knocked out of the game off an Ovechkin shot- at least Ovie's picking on the opposition, now. Reports on Clark are that he's suffering vertigo, so he may be out for a good while longer.

Caps get a PP with 9:08 left 2nd... not much happening on this one, and now it's 4- on 4... which is too bad after that great kill...

KOZLOV SCORES!!!!

1-0 Caps!!! 

And at 5:33 and on the PP again,

KOZLOV AGAIN!!!!!

2-0 Caps!!!

2:05 left 2nd

IT'S FLEISHMANN THIS TIME!!!!!

3-0 Caps!!!

Let me take a few exclamation points back- at 1:11, Heatley scores.

3-1

3-1, end 2nd.

That "Heatley" goal? Now given to Alfredsson....

that second Kozlov goal? Now given to...

BACKSTROM!!!!!  His first NHL goal!

3rd is on, the first minute is very even... second minute, the Caps keep it away from the Sens... and Nylander and Ovechkin get a chance halfway through the third minute. 17:26 left in regulation.

 

16:20, Cap-in-the-box (Pettinger)... cleared at 1:41 PP... back in at 1:32... cleared at 1:11... back in at :59... cleared at :39... cleared at :20... in at :09, back out at :04... killed.

11:13 left, another Ott PP coming up...

finally cleared at 1:10... back in at :51... cleared at :37... Kolzig save at :06, and cleared... killed. Again.

Lots of Ottawa pressure, more HUGE saves from Kolzig, and the Caps finally ice the puck at 6:32 left in regulation...

TV timeout.

3:50 left, the Caps turn it over... but as the sens enter the zone, they miss on a cross ice pass and Laich and Ovechkin are off on a 2 on 1, Ovechkin on the left.... he shoots...

HE SCORES!!!!!

4-1 Caps!!!!

Jubilation on the ice....

4-1 Caps, final.

Much-needed win tonight against the best team in the league. Great to see Backstrom get his first NHL goal. Noticed he was double-shifted a lot. Also noticed that Bourque never touched the ice during the third (???).

________________________

'NO' to drugs; 'YES' to mirrored visors.

With his goal and 2 assists, Kozlov was 3rd Star of the Night at NHL.

Didn't notice about Bourque, and can't verify it because the one stat that didn't show up at NHL is the time on ice page.