Caps remain hottest team in the NHL

Last night's win was another one of those, 'oh boy, they survived wins'.  It is not that the Caps played particularly well, because they didn't, it is more that, the Caps just have tremendous will and fire power and can strike at any time.  Just ask the Rangers.  Ask the Bruins.  Ask the Red Wings.

The defense was shabby, allowing 38 shots on goal.  It is actually amazing, during this stretch of wins, the defense is allowing more shots at the goalie.  The penalty kill was horrific last night, allowing the Ranger to convert 3 of 6 opportunities, two within seconds of the start of the Rangers PP.  Even Jose Theodore was not in top form.  There were some critical defensive turnovers (Pothier being one) that G Jose Theodore had to once again, play bailout artist.

Last night's game looked as if the Caps streak of wins would finally come to an end.  The Rangers jumped on Washington right from the start, out shooting the Caps in the first period 18-6 and out scoring the Caps 2-1.  The lone first period Caps goal came from Boyd Gordon, who took a very nice pass in front of the net from Dave Steckel to score his 3rd of the season.  Want to hear something even weirder?  Gordo has now scored in consecutive games.

In a wild second period, the Caps and Rangers exchanged 3 goals a piece, as Washington put 18 shots on Henrik Lundqvist while the Rangers put up 12 on Theo.  Mike Knuble hit the 20 goal mark a little over 4 minutes into the second period to tie the score at 2-2. Knuble has been super red hot in scoring and for his 20th goal, he can thank a nifty pass from Nicklas Backstrom that fed him right in front of King Henry.  Two and a half minutes later, Alex Ovechkin struck for his 37th goal of the year on the Caps power play to give the Caps a 3-2 lead.

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http://www.dcprosportsreport.com/articles/washington-capitals/caps-remain-hottest-team-in-the-nhl.html