Washington moves into first with win over Florida
It is only early February and the NHL season still has two months left to determine who qualifies for the Stanley Cup playoffs and whose season will end abruptly.
But these final 29 games will pass quickly, and the Capitals can’t afford to lose ground in the Southeast Division title chase. It might be the only door open to the postseason for them. On Tuesday evening against the first-place Florida Panthers, Washington played with an urgency too often missing lately. Mathieu Perreault scored just 13 seconds into the game, setting the tone in a 4-0 victory at Verizon Center.
Alex Ovechkin posted his first two-goal game since New Year’s Eve and Jason Chimera also scored for the Caps (28-21-4, 60 points), who never trailed. The win catapulted them from ninth place in the Eastern Conference — and outside a playoff position — all the way up to third. The Panthers (24-17-11, 59 points) still have a game in hand on Washington. Both teams next play Thursday.
“We knew what was on the line tonight,” coach Dale Hunter said. “These are four-point games and playoff games and we’re battling with Florida. That’s the team we’re battling head-to-head with other teams right around us. Every two points mean a lot.”
Perreault’s goal was set up by a poor clearing attempt from Florida goalie Scott Clemmensen (20 saves). Alexander Semin intercepted the puck, pushed it behind the net to Chimera, who found Perreault skating unopposed out front. It wasn’t quite a record — Washington once scored eight seconds into a game — but it was the fastest goal this season.
Ovechkin registered goal No. 21 at the 9 minute, 21 second mark of the first period. A power-play opportunity that started in ugly fashion quickly turned dangerous as Ovechkin skated onto a pass from defenseman Dennis Wideman and blew past a Panthers defenseman. He ripped the puck by Clemmensen on the short side for the 2-0 advantage.
Caps goalie Tomas Vokoun, making his third consecutive start, was excellent. He made a fine stop at 3:55 of the first on Panthers forward Stephen Weiss to keep the lead 1-0 and Washington survived four Florida power plays. Vokoun finished with 42 saves and posted his fourth shutout of the season — second vs. the Panthers, his former team — and 48th of his career.
“You look at the first 30 minutes and Tomas makes a half-dozen excellent saves,” forward Brooks Laich said. “The game could have been a lot closer so there are some areas of our game that we have to clean up. We did some good things, but the difference maker was Tomas.”
The Caps put the game away early in the second period. With Florida still on a power play to start, John Carlson’s shot was tipped on net by Chimera, who jammed home his own rebound for a short-handed goal. That came 61 seconds into the period. At 11:47 Ovechkin scored on a shot from above the circles. That was No. 22 on the year.
