Ovechkin Scores the Lone Capitals Goal in Loss to the Kings

The Capitals played their final home game before a long five game West Coast road trip Saturday afternoon and it started off just the way they wanted - with a goal from Alex Ovechkin.That would be it for the offense though as the Kings would go on to score four unanswered goals to hand the Capitals their second straight loss.

"We're coming to a key point in the season," said alternate captain Mike Knuble after the game. "It's time to start throwing the switch toward the playoffs. It's like we're waiting for something to happen... We're entering the toughest part of the season. It's going to be a real indicator if we're a serious contender or not, quite honestly. We've got our work cut out for us and [need to] decide if we're serious or not."

Ovechkin netted his 21st of the season at just 1:06 into the game. He took a loose puck and skated up the left side before cutting to the middle and firing the puck past goaltender Jonathan Bernier.

The intensity picked up when D.J. King, playing in his first game since Jan. 24, dropped gloves with Kevin Westgarth late in the period.

That was when the tone of the game shifted to favor the Kings. They outshot the Capitals 8-0 in the first few minutes of the second period before taking a delay-of-game penalty. The Capitals looked uninterested in the power-play as the Kings killed it off easily. Washington was unable to convert on four power-plays in the game.

Anzer Kopitar tied the game up midway through the period. Michal Handzus chipped the puck away from Nicklas Backstrom up to Kopitar who fed it to Wayne Simmonds. Simmonds was very strong on the puck, shielding it away from Mike Green and getting a shot off from the low slot. Semyon Varlamov made the initial save, but Kopitar was there to tie the game heading into the third period.

“It’s a one-one game going into the third. We outworked them in the first, got outworked in the second and all we had to do was outwork them in the third to start off a tough road trip and they looked like they were already thinking about what’s going on in the sun," said Washington head coach Bruce Boudreau after the game, referring to the team's upcoming west coast road trip.
 
It was just over three minutes into the final frame when the Kings took the lead for good. Jeff Schultz was caught playing too far forward and the Kings got a two-on-one with Kyle Clifford and Andrei Loktionov. Once again Varlamov stopped the first shot, but was unable to stop the second as Loktionov scored.

The Kings would add two goals in a span of 1:28 later in the period as Handzus and Stoll took advantage of more Washington miscues.

"It wasn't so much what they did, it's what we didn't do. It's what we haven't been doing," said defenseman Karl Alzner.

The loss was the first time the Capitals have lost in regulation when leading after the first period this season and is a tough start to a long road trip. The team heads to Phoenix to play the Coyotes on Monday before stopping in Anaheim, San Jose, Buffalo and Pittsburgh.

Additional Notes

- Alex Ovechkin's goal 1:06 into the game was the fastest Caps goal to start a game this season. The team record is eight seconds by Alexander Semin in 2009 and Gaetan Duchesne in 1987.

- Bruce Boudreau said he limited ice time for some players late in the game to send a message. Neither Brooks Laich nor Alexander Semin played the final 6:04 after the fourth Los Angeles goal.

- The Capitals held a players only meeting after the game.

Ovechkin Scores the Only Capitals Goal in Loss to the Kings

The Capitals played their final home game before a long five game, west

coast road trip Saturday afternoon and it started off just the way they

wanted - with a goal from Alex Ovechkin.That would be it for the

offense, as the Kings would go on to score four unanswered goals to hand

the Capitals their second straight loss.

"We're coming to a key point in the season," said alternate captain Mike

Knuble after the game. "It's time to start throwing the switch toward

the playoffs. It's like we're waiting for something to happen... We're

entering the toughest part of the season. It's going to be a real

indicator if we're a serious contender or not, quite honestly. We've got

our work cut out for us and [need to] decide if we're serious or not.

Alex Ovechkin netted his 21st of the season at just 1:06 into the game.

He took a loose puck and skated up the left side before cutting to the

middle and firing the puck past goaltender Jonathan Bernier.

The intensity picked up a little later when D.J. King, playing in his

first game since January 24th, dropped gloves with Kevin Westgarth with

three minutes left in the period.

That was when the tone of the game shifted to favor the Kings. They

outshot the Capitals 8-0 in the first few minutes of the second period

before taking a delay-of-game penalty. The Capitals looked uninterested

in the power-play as the Kings killed it off quickly. The team was

unable to convert on four power-plays in the game.

Anzer Kopitar tied the game up midway through the period. Michal Handzus

chipped the puck away from Nicklas Backstrom up to Kopitar who fed it to

Wayne Simmonds. Simmonds was very strong on the puck, shielding it away

from Mike Green and getting a shot off from the low slot. Varlamov made

the initial save, but Kopitar was there to tie the game heading into the

third period.

“It’s a one-one game going into the third. We outworked them in the

first, got outworked in the second and all we had to do was outwork them

in the third to start off a tough road trip and they looked like they

were already thinking about what’s going on in the sun," said Washington

Head Coach Bruce Boudreau after the game, referring to the team's

upcoming west coast road trip.
 
It was just over three minutes into the final frame when the Kings took

the lead for good. Jeff Schultz was caught playing too far forward and

the Kings got a two-on-one with Kyle Clifford and Andrei Loktonov. Once

again Varlamov stopped the first shot, but was unable to stop the second

as Loktionov scored.

The Kings would add two goals in a span of 1:28 later in the period as

Handzus and Stoll took advantage of more Washington miscues.

"It wasn't so much what they did, it's what we didn't do. It's what we

haven't been doing," said defenseman Karl Alzner.

The loss was the first time the Capitals have lost in regulation when

leading after the first period this season.

The team heads out on a tought five game road trip, first heading out to

Phoenix to play the Coyotes on Monday night.

Additional Notes

- Alex Ovechkin's goal 1:06 into the game was the fastest Caps goal to

start a game this season. The record is eight seconds by Alexander Semin

in 2009 and Gaetan Duchesne in 1987.

- Bruce Boudreau said he limited ice time for some players late in the

game to send a message. Neith Brooks Laich or Alexander Semin played the

final 6:04 after the fourth Los Angeles goal.

- The Capitals held a players only meeting after the game.