Nicklas Backstrom

What a difference two days makes.

Alexander Ovechkin scored a hat trick and added an assist while Braden Holtby stopped 21 of 22 shots as the Capitals beat the New Jersey Devils 5-1.

It was less than 48 hours ago that Troy Brouwer swung his stick in disgust after the Caps gave up two goals and in the third period that started with a 2-1 Caps lead.

Brouwer would net the game's final goal off of an Ovechkin helper in the closing minutes of the third period.

The third period that the Caps played today was as good a period as the Capitals could have hoped for: they stayed out of the box (save a delay of game penalty, the 10th delay penalty in 17 games), outshot the...

The Capitals aren't in the basement anymore.

With a 1-1 score at the start of the third period, the Caps scored twice on the visiting Flyers and managed to hang on to it for the first time in three games, with the final score 3-2 in the home team's favor.

The win took the Caps from 15th in the East to 13th. Although it's not a huge leap, not being last anymore is just fine.

This game, a home game against a rivalry team after two come-from-ahead losses was a must-win game early in the season. The Flyers had been struggling similarly in the first weeks of the new season.

Spots that were problematic for the Caps started to look a lot better.

The Caps...

An exhausted Capitals team hosts the Flyers after their 3-2 loss in Toronto last night. The Flyers are fresh after having two full days off. They will look to bounce back after struggling in Tampa and New York. What better place than in D.C. where the Caps are among the worst teams in hockey right now.

Somebody had a case of the Mondays.

The New York Islanders, at least, will have a quick turnaround after one of their worst performance’s of the season. After a dismal 3-1 loss to the Nashville Predators, the
Islanders travel to the nation’s capital to play the red hot Washington Capitals.

Washington, winners of seven straight at the Verizon Center, come into the contest off a 2-1 home victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. They haven’t trailed in a game at home since December 13th. In 22 games since Bruce Boudreau was replaced by Dale Hunter, the Capitals have gone 12-9-1 playing themselves into a 1st place tie with the Florida Panthers in the Southeast Division.