Ovechkin 1, Kovalchuk 0, well, kinda.

Although that title is misleading, Kovalchuk tallied, Ovechkin didn't.

Even in the win, the Capitals cannot be happy with their 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers tonight. The Capitals took a somewhat commanding 5-2 lead in the second period on 3 goals scored within 88 seconds, but that was about the end of the Capitals playing smart hockey. It seems as though it's impossible for them to play 60 minutes of hockey, which has happened with a lot of teams this season and it's somewhat disheartening. The game would have been tied up with just seconds remaining in the third if Maxim Afinogenov had been able to put away a late powerplay goal. Kovalchuk had just netted one the shift prior, and it looked like Kovalchuk was going to singlehandedly bring the Thrashers back to win it. They ultimately fell short, but the Caps cannot keep giving up in the third period if they want to be considered an elite team in the league. I can't tell if it's complacency or just laziness that has been fueling the Capitals meltdowns in the third, but they need to correct it.

On the plus side, Eric Fehr came back and he was getting involved quite a bit, including scoring a goal. Alexandre Giroux put a goal on the board with an assist from Keith Aucoin, and the Caps finally got the secondary scoring they've been waiting for, with Alex Semin being out because of being "sick and sore," as Joe B and Locker put it, and Alex Ovechkin didn't factor in on any goals, which is somewhat of an anomaly this year, Ovi has 16 points in 9 games. Also Jeff Schultz had two assists and a 182 foot goal(not on the empty net), in what was probably the best game he's ever had in his entire career.

So while the Caps still won, I'm sure Bruce "Gabby" Boudreau will still have plenty to yell about at practice tomorrow.