Michael Neuvirth Earns 4th Shutout to Get Washington Capitals Back on Track

Stop the season and let the playoffs begin.

Last night, Michael Neuvirth earned his fourth shutout of the season and his young career, leading the Washington capitals to a 3-0 victory over the surging but desperate New Jersey Devils.

The four shutouts are now tops among all rookie goalies in the NHL, as the 22-year-old Neuvirth now seems the likely choice to begin the postseason as Washington’s starter.

Neuvirth and his left catching glove were outstanding in a 33-save performance that helped propel the Caps to their 12th win in their last 14 games.

Washington is now tied atop the NHL's Eastern Conference with the Philadelphia Flyers with 94 points.

Neuvirth entered the contest undefeated in three career starts against the Devils, with a stingy goals against average of 1.33 and .960 save percentage. Neuvirth's defense played solid in front of him, especially his penalty killers.

Washington did not receive a power play in the contest but killed off four New Jersey power plays, including a double minor to Matt Hendricks for high sticking.

Many of the 33 shots Neuvirth faced were from the top of the circles but the Devils did get some quality first period scoring chances.

Neuvirth stopped Brian Roleston from point blank range and then immediately kicked aside a slap shot from the Devils Henrik Tallinder in the opening minute. Neuvirth stopped Roleston again along with Dainius Zubrus and Davis Clarkson in the final three minutes of the opening period. 

Neuvy also frustrated New Jersey’s Russian sniper, Ilya Kovachuk, with three great glove saves throughout the game.

The last save came on a Kovachuk breakaway with 2:57 remaining in the contest to preserve the shutout. Kovachuk slammed his stick into the boards following the miss, perhaps sensing the Devils were not just running out of time in the game but perhaps their season as well.

"I've had my ups and downs but lately I'm feeling good and confident about my game and I think my best times are to come," Neuvirth said. "We still have nine games left and we have three good goalies and only one net, so it'll be interesting."

"He was pretty good," Boudreau said of Neuvirth. "You could tell he wanted it. He was upset after allowing that third goal in Detroit and he's a competitor. Early on, he was the difference, probably the whole game he was difference.”

New Jersey dropped its second straight game and is still six points behind the eighth and final playoff spot in the eastern conference.  

More than just Neuvirth frustrated New Jersey tonight. Devils head coach Jacques Lemaire led the New Jersey Devils to their first Stanley Cup victory in 1995 using what he was widely credited for inventing, the neutral zone trap.

Tonight the Capitals used the very same one-two-two trapping style of defense to perfection in beating Lemaire's team in his house.

Washington trapped New Jersey to the outside for most of the evening, forcing many offsides calls in the contest. The Capitals kept the passing lanes clogged with sticks and were fast in clearing the zone and in transition. 

During the Devils broadcast of the game tonight, Hall of Fame hockey journalist Stan Fischler referred to the Capitals as a finely-tuned sports car not yet using all of its cylinders. Fischler said it was not because they cannot; it was simply because they do not have to yet.

During the turbulent months of late November and all of December, the smallest of hockey tasks seemed so difficult to accomplish for the Capitals. On the other hand, opponents always seemed to make those same tasks look easy against Washington.

Tonight, the Capitals scored when they needed to, forced New Jersey to take the shots the Caps wanted them to take and mostly controlled a hockey game in which, statistically, they were dominated.

That is where the domination stops, because the Caps looked in control of the contest from start to finish.

The Caps had only three shots midway through the second period but led 2-0, totaling just 12 for the game. They were outshot, but by no means were they outplayed, scoring in each period of the game through precision shooting and passing. 

Caps Defenseman Jeff Schultz put the Caps on the board first, scoring what proved to be the game-winner. Schultz became the last Washington defenseman to score a goal this season.

The goal was Schultz’s first in 81 games, spanning back to last February 11. The play was set-up by tonight's offensive star, Mike Knuble.

Knuble slid a pass back to Schultz who appeared to fire a seven-iron chip shot past Martin Brodeur at 6:10 of the opening period. The goal was the Caps second and last shot of the first period.

On a quest to record his eighth straight 20-goal season, Mike Knuble would score Washington’s next two goals. Knuble scored goal No. 18 in the middle frame and 19 in the final stanza, keying the victory for the Southeast division leaders.

No. 18 came on a beautiful fake-shot pass from Caps defenseman John Carlson. Carlson received a pass from Alex Ovechkin and found Knuble drifting down the left side of the slot. When Carlson faked the shot from the right faceoff circle, he forced Brodeur to commit. In doing so, Knuble was able to receive the pass from Carlson and deposit the puck into an empty net.

Knuble scored his second goal of the game 11:24 into the third when Alex Ovechkin fed Knuble with a cross-ice pass. Knuble beat Martin Brodeur over his shoulder and up under the crossbar with a wrist shot.

The goal was Knuble's fourth in as many games. Ovechkin now has 22 points in his last 18 games, boosting his point total to 77 for the season. He is three points shy of becoming one of only seven players to begin their NHL careers with six straight seasons of at least 80 points. He needs just two goals to reach 300 for his career.

Tonight marked the return of Nicklas Backstrom from a five-game absence with a broken finger but Boudreau kept rookie Marcus Johansson centering the first line with Alex Ovechkin and Mike Knuble.

The Capitals continued two impressive undefeated streaks tonight. They remain undefeated when leading after two periods (25-0-2) and are now 35-0-3 when scoring three or more goals in a game this season.

This was an impressive win, Caps fans. Do not let a Pens fans, Flyers fan or anybody else tell you that the Caps are beating teams below them and not in the playoff hunt. As of right now, every team except the Flyers is below them in the standings.

Tonight’s win was the fourth consecutive season the Capitals have won 20 road games. Washington has allowed just 21 goals in winning 12 of their last 14 games. They have held the opposition to two goals or fewer in 10 of those 12 wins and are averaging just 1.75 goals per game in doing so.

The Caps have passed Boston as the the third ranked defense in the NHL. Washington has not finished higher than 12th, since finishing fourth in the 1999-00 season

Washington is now 2-1 on their current road trip with their next stop coming against the Flyers on Tuesday night.

Although the Caps and Flyers are tied atop the conference, Philadelphia has three games in hand. The game in Philly should be reminiscent of the days when the Caps and Flyers squared off in the Patrick division.

On this date back in 1892, Lord Stanley first presented to Canada what is now the Stanley Cup. If the Capitals can continue to play as they have in the last month, come mid-June, they too may be receiving their first of what could be a few Cups that say Lord Stanley.