Bryan Helmer and Tomas Fleischmann of the Washington Capitals fight for control of the puck with Brett McClean and other players of the Florida Panthers.
Tomas Fleischmann scores Washington's third goal late in the final period.
This was huge. The Caps while digging deep into their bench shut out the Canadiens tonight to remain unbeaten at home this season. The Caps have lost only once at home in ten games, and never in regulation. Caps scoring came from Tomas Fleischmann, Alex Ovechkin, and David Steckel.
Montreal Coach Guy Carbonneau had this to say about the Caps play, "We knew they had injuries or something like that. Having that kind of record at home is not a fluke. They came to work and we didn't. We didn't respond."
Washington's goalie Jose Theodore was outstanding in the net. Stopping 28 shots on goal, playing tough throughout the game as Montreal threw everything they had at him.
For more photographs from the game visit, OffWing Photo.
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 28: Goalie Jose Theodore of the Washington Capitals makes a save against the Montreal Canadiens during a NHL hockey game on November 28, 2008 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Allen Clark/OffWingPhoto.com)
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 28: Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals scores on goalie Jaroslav Halak of the Montreal Canadiens during a NHL hockey game on November 28, 2008 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Allen Clark/OffWingPhoto.com)
With the help of the hot hands of Ovechkin, Kozlov, and Fehr the Caps beat the visiting Atlanta Thrashers, 5-3. Ovechkin scored a hat trick while Kozlov and Fehr each scored once.
Four Players were called up from Hershey. Alex had this to say about their play, "The played well tonight and we did a great job too. We have a very big future with young guys. We have experience and we see guys like Alzner, Bourque, Mink and Lep come onto the team and they fill their role."
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 26: Fans of the Washington Capitals toss their hats onto the ice following Alex Ovechkin's Hat Trick against the Atlanta Thrashers during a NHL hockey game on November 26, 2008 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Allen Clark/OffWingPhoto.com)
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 26: Alex Ovechkin and Sami Lepisto of the Washington Capitals celebrate following an Ovechkin goal in the first period against the Atlanta Thrashers during a NHL hockey game on November 26, 2008 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Allen Clark/OffWingPhoto.com)
Click on any of the following images to be taken to more photos from the game in our flickr gallery. Or visit OffWing Photo for full photo coverage.
Pond Hockey, the Next Best Thing to, Well, Pond Hockey
Last night I made the cross-city trek to The Avalon Theater to see On Frozen Blog's screening of Pond Hockey, the documentary about the first-ever U.S. National Pond Hockey Championships and the decline of pond hockey in North America.
The movie was great, and offered some candid thoughts from NHLers past and present, as well as those who never made it pro, but still love the game. I loved watching "Bug" Booston fly across the ice, having never played high school or college hockey, but still showing up many of the other guys on the ice.
There were two other moments in the film that really connected with me. The first was when Jack Falla was sitting beside his backyard rink, the Bacon Street Omni, and said simply, "I've never been unhappy at the rink." I don't think anyone could argue with that statement. When you're skating on that open ice, with the wind in your hair and your skates crunching into the ice, all is perfect with the world. There is no other feeling like it, and it certainly can't be felt inside an indoor rink.
The other was when Jeff Sorem, a Minnesota native widely regarded as one of the best pond hockey players around, said that his idol was Neal Broten. Then later in the film Broten says, sitting with a frozen pond in the background, that he just wishes he could be eight years old again, for just a couple days. Hockey has become so structured that I think we all just wish sometimes that we could go back to when it was a game of simple and uninhibited fun.
Pond Hockey makes every person who sees it long for a move back to the simplicity outdoor skating; the way so many people have learned to love the game. That feeling needs to be brought back to today's kids, so they can learn to love the game as their parents did so many years ago.
Click here for Washington Caps head coach Bruce Boudreau talk about Alex Ovechkin leaving the team to be with his ailing grandfather. For more from FanHouse, click here.
