Capitals Get It Done on Opening Night

Atlanta, GA --- Despite a slow start, the Washington Capitals managed to pull out a 4-2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers at Phillips Arena.

Veteran winger Michael Nylander proved some spark early in the game, scoring the Capitals' first two goals. Both he recieved from defenseman Brian Pothier, who had three assists; he scored his first goal when he recieved the puck from Pothier, turned, and slapped the puck into the upper shelf of the goal. The other saw Pothier make a perfect cross-crease pass to Nylander, who finished it off at the opposite side of the goal.

Also scoring for Washington were Matt Bradley and Viktor Kozlov, who dumped the puck into an empty net with seconds remaining to seal the victory for the Capitals. Both of Atlanta's goals were scored by Erik Christensen, who was very dynamic in front of goal. However, the Thrashers could not find shots with a man advantage, scoring only once on four power plays. The Capitals were just as bad. However, both teams scored a short-handed goal, a testament to the offensive power on the ice last night.

Although Atlanta dominated faceoffs, this did not translate into shots on goal; they were outshot 37-24 by Washington. The Capitals also spent nearly twice as much time attacking, with the Thrashers only spending sixteen minutes across the blue line on offense.

The Thrashers were almost held in the game by their goalie, Kari Lehtonen, who saved 33 shots (91% of those he faced). However, Atlanta could just not produce enough offense to compete with the high-powered Washington attack. Surprisingly, Alexander Ovechkin was held to no points in seven shots on goal.

The Capitals, now 1-0-0, move on to play the undefeated Chicago Blackhawks, who defeated the New York Rangers 2-1. The Capitals' struggling power play will not be helped by the Blackhawks red-hot goalie, Nikolai Khabibulin, who only allowed one goal in Chicago's opener. Chicago also has a faltering power play, not having scored in two attempts. However, they have killed all six penalties against them this season.