Kings-Caps: Los Angeles Rules Washington, 5-2

Cheryl NicholsNov 20, 2008

The Kings ruled the ice and shut down the Caps 5-2, and in the process stopped Ovechkin's goal scoring streak at five straight games.

The Kings are one of only three NHL teams against which Alex Ovechkin has not scored a goal. The Capitals face the other two—San Jose and Minnesota—in their next two games.

Nicklas Backstrom lived up to his NHL Star of the Week hype and scored first for the Caps on a power-play goal. Backstrom has scored a goal in four of his past five games after a season-opening 14-game drought.

The Caps' only other goal was made by Brooks Laich, his fifth of the season.

Brent Johnson got a workout tonight as L.A. out-shot Washington 33-21.

The Caps were missing key players including their leading scorer. Alexander Semin missed his third consecutive game because of an undisclosed upper body injury, Sergi Federov missed his seventh straight due to a sprained ankle, and Mike Green missed his first game after being checked hard into the boards by Anaheim's Pronger.

Alexander Ovechkin was a "King for a day" as the Los Angeles Kings proclaimed it "Russian Heritage Night" at Staples Center. Newly inducted Hall of Famer Igor Larionov dropped the a ceremonial first puck between Ovechkin and Alexander Frolov, who are both from Russia.

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Three Stars of the Game

1. D. Brown—LA (Goals: 1, Assists: 1)
2. D. Doughty—LA (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)
3. K. Quincey—LA (Goals: 0, Assists: 1)

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Caps Notes

Alex Ovechkin has recorded at least one goal and two points in five straight games, matching the longest such streak in Capitals history. Dennis Maruk did the same in 1980-81. Ovechkin's four points last night at Anaheim (1g-3a) marked a season high, and give him 14 points (6g-8a) and a +12 rating in his last five games.
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