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NHL News | March 14, 2010
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Backstrom OT goal gives Caps 4-3 win over Chicago
By Rick Gano
March 14, 2010
Chicago, IL — Alex Ovechkin was kicked out early, the Washington Capitals fell behind 3-0 and that's when they showed why they have the NHL's best record and highest-scoring offense.
Nicklas Backstrom scored unassisted with 1:50 left in overtime — his second goal of the game — to give the Capitals a 4-3 comeback victory Sunday.
"It's a strong sign, especially now at the end of the season," Backstrom said. "We know he (Ovechkin) is a key to our team and he scores a lot of goals. We have shown that we can play, that our other key players can, play, too."
After his sprint up the side, Backstrom maneuvered around Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook in the left circle and beat Antti Niemi.
Ovechkin, the two-time MVP and the league's leading scorer this season, got a game misconduct in the first period for knocking Chicago's Brian Campbell into the boards.
"There's nothing I can do right now. He just fell and this happens," Ovechkin said.
Jonathan Toews had two goals and John Madden scored once for the Blackhawks, who had their second crushing defeat in as many days.
They lost 3-2 in Philadelphia on Saturday, giving up two goals in the final two minutes, including the game winner with two seconds to go.
Down 3-0 in the third Sunday without their top player and with Niemi playing well, the Capitals dominated play.
Brooks Laich scored on a power play at 5:29 to make it 3-1. A couple of seconds after the Caps' 5-on-3 power play had elapsed, Backstrom converted a rebound at 7:32. Thirteen seconds later, Eric Fehr scored from just outside the crease, tying the game, silencing the crowd at the United Center and forcing Chicago to take a timeout.
The Capitals had an 11-1 shots-on-goal advantage in the third period.
Ovechkin raced up the ice and from behind drove Campbell into the boards with 7:44 left in the first period.
Campbell stayed down for several minutes before he was able to leave the ice with a trainer at his side and then headed to the locker room. He did not return to the game. He has an upper-body injury and will not make the Blackhawks upcoming road trip to the West Coast.
Ovechkin went to the penalty box after being assessed a five-minute boarding penalty and then into the locker room after being given a game misconduct.
"I don't think it was a real good check. He just kind of fell and it was a dangerous moment. It was not a hard hit. I just wanted to push him," Ovechkin, the two-time MVP, added.
"I didn't hit him hard. I pushed him, but he fell bad. It probably looks bad. I thought it was going to be two minutes, but the linesman came to me and said 'Game over.'"
Ovechkin was given two game misconducts earlier this season, the first for a shoulder check and the second one for a kneeing incident that eventually led to a two-game suspension.
"The league will do what they do," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville. "Soupy (Campbell) is going to be out for a bit here. It was a dangerous hit."
Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson would like to see Ovechkin penalized.
"I hope they take a good look and suspend him for a couple of games," he said.
The Blackhawks were able to capitalize on the penalty after Ovechkin's hit. They had a 5-on-3 power play after a second penalty on Alexander Semin, who crashed into Niemi at the end of a breakaway.
Toews scored for the second time in the first period, poking in a rebound from in front after a shot from Patrick Sharp. That made it 2-0.
Madden scored on a redirect on a long pass from Duncan Keith to make it 3-0 in the second.
"We've got the most skill in the league, on any team," Toews said. "There's no reason, up 3-0, we can't go out and finish the team off."
With the teams playing 4-on-4, Toews took a nice crossing pass from Hjalmarsson for the first score seven minutes into the game.
Niemi, in a battle with Cristobal Huet to determine the team's No. 1 goalie before the playoffs, made 26 saves. Jose Theodore had 20.
Notes: Blackhawks RW Marian Hossa, who scored his 20th goal and had his 20th assist in Saturday's loss at Philadelphia, was scratched with an upper-body injury. ..
The Capitals reached 100 points in their 69th game. Backstrom also had an assist, giving him at least 55 in each of his first three seasons.
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Avery finishes Flyers as Rangers grab key playoff points
Associated Press
March 14, 2010
New York, NY — Sean Avery returned from a one-game benching and scored twice to help the New York Rangers earn a key 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday.
Avery sat out New York's win at Atlanta on Friday, but returned to the lineup and raised his agitating style to the level coach John Tortorella demanded. He got the Rangers even in the second period and drew three Philadelphia penalties, including two resulting in power plays.
Michal Rozsival netted the go-ahead goal in the second period as the Rangers climbed within one point of eighth-place Boston in the Eastern Conference playoff race. New York also shelved urges to retaliate against Dan Carcillo, who fought star forward Marian Gaborik in the teams' previous meeting on Jan. 21 and drew the Rangers' ire.
Avery gave the Rangers a 3-1 lead with 5:54 remaining when his unscreened shot somehow eluded Michael Leighton's glove and left the goalie hanging his head. Henrik Lundqvist needed to make only 17 saves for the win. New York recorded 21 shots on Leighton.
Danny Briere scored his 24th goal 4:13 in for Philadelphia, which couldn't build off its stirring home win in the final seconds against Chicago on Saturday. The Flyers then endured a 7-hour train ride through a strong storm and didn't arrive in New York until after midnight.
After recording only four shots in an uninspiring first period, the Rangers took over early in the second.
Avery responded to Tortorella's charge that he be more engaging and scored his ninth at 1:53. Wade Redden's shot bounced off Leighton's pad, and Avery charged in and swept in a backhand to make it 1-1.
New York received only one power play in the first and failed to record a shot. The Rangers made the most of their second when Rozsival fired a shot in off the left post at 4:54.
The physical play and animosity expected in this game showed up in the second. Avery and Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger were whistled for penalties at 2:09 following a scrum that was sparked by Avery's crunching hit on Matt Carle.
Avery then goaded Scott Hartnell into a roughing penalty with 2:30 left in the period. Hartnell grabbed hold of Avery and kept yanking him as Avery turned away. As Hartnell went to the penalty box, Avery yapped at Flyers captain Mike Richards from the bench. Richards skated away, shaking his head.
New York received another power play earlier in the period when James van Riemsdyk crashed into Lundqvist while charging the net. Lundqvist was bowled over and lost his mask in the pileup. When he got up, he and teammate Brandon Dubinsky's checked the goalie's head for blood.
Hartnell, also a known agitator, took a punishing shift in the offensive zone several minutes before his run-in with Avery. Hartnell was repeatedly knocked to the ice. He finally worked his way to the bench, hunched over at the waist likely from exhaustion and pain. Hartnell skipped a few shifts before returning.
Avery drew an interference call against Braydon Coburn early in the third and exchanged shoves with Carcillo.
Game notes: The Flyers began a four-game road trip. ... New York had gone 177 minutes, 7 seconds without scoring against Philadelphia. The Flyers posted wins of 2-0 and 6-0 in the previous two meetings. They opened the season series with a 2-1 home win on Dec. 19. ... Flyers enforcer Riley Cote played for the first time since Dec. 21. He was scratched for 32 games since
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