Rangers Add To Washington’s Winless Streak

Added on Dec 13, 2010 by J Merrill in

NHL

The only fight the Capitals put up on Sunday night was a rare fight by Alex Ovechkin. Artem Anisimov scored the first 3 goals for the Rangers during a 4 minute stretch in the second, as the Rangers demolished the Washington Capitals 7-0. Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves for the Rangers, and netted his fifth shutout for the season. Also scoring two times or more was Ryan Callahan, who helped hand the Caps their sixth loss in a row.

Ovechkin thinks they are making too much of this winless slump. “I think we just have to relax. know it is huge pressure for us right now. Six games in a row. It’s big pressure for our players and coaches. We just have to relax and not think about the losing streak.” Ovechkin is in the middle of a scoring slump, and squared off with New York’s Brandon Dubinsky in the second. The two-time NHL MVP left the game in the third period after being hit by a shot, but said afterward his knee was “OK.” Ovechkin threw a hip check on Dan Girardi in the offensive zone, then skated up ice and dropped his gloves to go at Dubinsky, who landed multiple overhand rights before wrestling Ovechkin to the ice. Ovechkin said of the fight “I just saw Dubinsky coming. It’s just a moment in a game. Nothing special. The Capitals’ captain was booed every time he touched the puck following the fight.

Dubinsky didn’t think the fight was anything more than what we saw, and said ti was pretty straight forward what happened. “I think we have a mutual respect for each other. I really respect how he plays and how hard he plays and obviously his skill level,” Dubinsky said. “At the same time, I saw one of my teammates on the ice and wanted to protect him. Whether it is him or anyone else, I don’t like to see my teammates on the ice.”

Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau knows he has to stop the bleeding, as this was the first time since 2007 that the Caps lost 6 in a row. The Capitals were a pre-season favorite to make the play offs, and now they have just dropped 6 in a row, and the last time they lost to the Rangers by at least seven goals was an 11-4 setback in March 1978. Boudreau said. “I don’t have an answer right now. It is unfamiliar territory. I think we have a lot of people feeling sorry for themselves. As you can tell, when you get down, teams aren’t feeling sorry for you. They’re pushing it on, piling it on. We have to find a way to get out of this, that’s all.”

Rangers coach John Tortorella felt his team was focused and they were rewarded for it. He feels its important for team cohesiveness. He said “When you play the right way and don’t get rewarded you need to get rewarded for [the players] to continue to buy into it. I thought we dictated how the game was going to be played.”

The Washington Capitals (18-11-3,39pts), who are 1st in Southeast Division, face the Anaheim Ducks(16-13-4, 36pts) at home on Wednesday. The New York Rangers (18-13-1,37pts), who are 3rd in Atlantic Division, face the Pittsburgh Penguins(21-8-2, 44pts) away on Wednesday.