Returning home from our vacation in Montreal, we headed to the Phone Booth last night to see the Caps seek some revenge for their season opening loss to the Atlanta Thrashers.
Since that initial defeat, the Caps had not dropped a game to other Southeast Division rivals, and were looking to not only extend that streak, but to snap a three-game losing skid from their previous West Coast road trip.
Listening to XM on the way to the game, we were surprised to learn that Chris Bourque, Karl Alzner, Sami Lepisto, and Graham Mink had all been recalled from Hershey to fill an injury-depleted Caps roster.
With Chris Clark and Jeff Schultz out on LTIR, an opportunity was presented for these four athletes to show the NHL what they have to offer, especially Alzner, who would be making his NHL debut.
With a 5-3 victory, the Caps took the much deserved two points, and continued to be dominant on home ice. Alex Ovechkin shifted gears and notched his first hat trick of the season, whilst adding an assist on a goal by Viktor Kozlov.
The prettiest goal of the evening, however, came from Eric Fehr, who scored on a sensational tic-tac-toe play from Tomas Fleischmann and Michael Nylander.
Kudos to Fehr for his performance this season. I was a tad worried about his future with the organization when he was consistently scratched from the line-up throughout October.
Other players worthy of recognition from last nights performance include Graham Mink, Matt Bradley and Tom Poti. All three worked hard out on the ice, and helped the team to secure the victory.
Props also to No. 60, who looked much more comfortable last night, and could only really be criticized for the third Thrasher goal, which I am sure he would have liked to have had back.
Overall, a good performance from the Caps, who were clearly feeling the effects of both jet lag and a lack of chemistry between the Caps' regulars and the Chocolatetown boys who were called up with such little notice.
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