It was bizarre, it was loud, and 11 goals were scored between the two teams, but lucky for us, the Washington Capitals started 2009 with a 7-4 win at Verizon Center. It was not all cheers, however, as former Caps defenseman Jamie Heward took a hard hit from Alex Ovechkin in the third period.

Heward was taken out on a stretcher and taken to Sibley Memorial Hospital after sustaining a concussion. He will be held overnight for further evaluation from the hospital staff. Ovechkin waited outside the Tampa Bay locker room after the game, to hear the news of his former teammate.

Back to the game, the Caps scored three goals in the opening stanza to take a commanding 3-1 lead into the first intermission. Sean Collins netted his first NHL goal and Mike Green and David Steckel each scored on one-timers to give the Caps the early lead.

In the second, the Caps surrendered a trio of goals, two of which came from Vincent Lecavalier, to cut the lead to 4-3. In the third, however, the Caps woke up defensively and the offense netted three to take the game and extend Head Coach Bruce Boudreau's record to 7-0-0 all-time against Tampa Bay.

The Capitals (25-11-3) are now 16-1-1 at Verizon Center and extended their lead in the Southeast Division to 12 points over the Carolina Hurricanes. The Caps are currently second in the Eastern Conference and trail the Boston Bruins by nine points for the top-seed in the East.

The Capitals host the New York Rangers on Saturday evening in Chinatown. The game will start at 7 p.m. and can be seen on Comcast Sportsnet. This season the Caps own a 2-0-0 advantage over the Rangers, with a 3-1 home win and a 5-4 overtime victory at the Garden.

LETS GO CAPS!!!