Shaone Morrisonn News

Tonights Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadians show down will feature for the Caps a season debut and a NHL debut.

Some elite teams in action during Friday night's six games. The Capitals, standing atop the East, put their 10-4-7 regulation record up against the Canadiens' dismal 2-11-8 regulation mark.

OTTAWA -- Depleted by injuries to nearly a third of the lineup, and weary from playing two games in two countries on back-to-back nights, the Washington Capitals were granted a reprieve Sunday.

Unfortunately for them, having a day off from practice to rest and regroup at a plush resort in suburban Ottawa might not do much to aid an injury-ravaged roster.

The Capitals could again be without seven players who were on the opening-night roster when they play the Senators at Scotiabank Place on Monday.

The Washington Capitals may be sitting atop the Eastern Conference standings, but the Ottawa Senators will be coming in as the hotter team when these two clubs face off this evening at Scotiabank Place.

Fresh off a loss at home to the Montreal Canadiens, the Washington Capitals didn't exactly waltz into the Air Canada Centre this morning and figure two points are there for the taking tonight.

With 19 seconds remaining in the game and trailing by one, Mike Green hit the right post flush and the puck gently came to rest underneath Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price, and the Washington Capitals' best chance to tie up a game they struggled in was whistled dead.A Two ensuing faceoffs provided no more help, and the Caps A fell 3-2 before a ...

Travis Moen and Tomas Plekanec scored in a three-minute span early in the second period, Michael Cammalleri added a goal in the third, and the Montreal Canadiens withstood a furious comeback to beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 on Friday night.

Just when the Washington Capitals' injury situation appeared to be improving, things have taken an unexpected turn for the worse.

Alexander Semin, the team's second most dangerous goal-scoring threat, arrived at Kettler Capitals Iceplex following practice on Wednesday wearing a new brace on his 'sore' right wrist.

General Manager George McPhee said an MRI exam did not reveal any structural damage but conceded that Semin, who was sidelined Tuesday in New York, might miss this weekend's games against Montreal and Toronto as well.

Thanks to a three-point night from , 28 saves by Jose Theodore and some excellent late work on the penalty kill, the short-handed Caps ended a three-game skid with a 4-1 victory against the Florida Panthers at BankAtlantic Center.

With Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green wearing suits instead of skates, it figured the Washington Capitals might struggle offensively.

Nothing could have been further from reality Saturday night at Verizon Center.

Sparked by Mathieu Perreault's first career NHL tally and a pair of late strikes from Tomas Fleischmann, the Capitals erupted for five goals in the third period and routed the Florida Panthers, 7-4, before a capacity crowd .

'We can say their goalie struggled and [Jose Theodore] maybe let in a couple of softer ones than he normally has, but I thought we showed great determination in the third period,' Coach Bruce Boudreau said. 'It was really neat to see Mathieu Perreault start it all.'

SUNRISE, FLA. -- Just when it seemed Washington's injury woes couldn't get any worse, they did.

With the team already missing two-time MVP Alex Ovechkin, defensemen Mike Green and Jeff Schultz both went down with injuries Friday night at BankAtlantic Center, where the short-handed Capitals gutted out a 4-1 victory over the Florida Panthers.

Brendan Morrison scored twice, Tyler Sloan and Brian Pothier each tallied once and goaltender Jose Theodore was occasionally spectacular in making 28 saves to snap Washington's three-game losing streak. But the Capitals' collective health was their biggest concern as the players and coaches headed back home for Saturday night's rematch against Florida at Verizon Center.

Brian Pothier scored a power-play goal and collected two assists, as the Washington Capitals defeated the Florida Panthers, 4-1, in the front end of a home-and-home series at BankAtlantic Center.

Completely unprovoked, Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau spent Tuesday morning lobbying for defenseman Mike Green to make the Canadian Olympic team.

Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said Monday he thought the Blue Jackets were targeting the Capitals Alex Ovechkin in Sunday's game.

Alex Ovechkin scored twice to add to his NHL-leading total, Semyon Varlamov stopped a penalty shot and the first-place Washington Capitals held on at the end to hand the Atlanta Thrashers their fourth straight loss, 4-3 on Thursday night.

It's no surprise that the Capitals are the early front- runners in the Southeast Division.

Actress and United Nations Fund for Women Goodwill Ambassador Nicole Kidman was on Capitol Hill Wednesday testifying and lobbying for the International Violence Against Women Act.

Bruce Boudreau is happy with the performance of his new assistant coach, Bob Woods.

With six of their first eight games against teams that made the Stanley Cup playoffs last spring, Washington Capitals Coach Bruce Boudreau often spoke of the two-week stretch as a litmus test for his team, which entered this season with so many high expectations.

The results weren't perfect: The Capitals won just two of the six against some of the NHL's elite. Four of the losses came by one goal -- one in a shootout and one in overtime.

In most cases, the Capitals were undone by a minor lapse in attention -- from unnecessary penalties to missed backchecking assignments to lackadaisical power plays.

Alex Ovechkin provided all of Washington's offense in the first 65 minutes of Saturday night's game. Then the two-time MVP scored the only goal in the shootout to lift the Capitals to their second straight victory, a 3-2 decision over a Nashville Predators team they probably should have finished off in regulation.

'We had them 2-0 there, and they are a team that is mentally battling themselves right now,' center Brendan Morrison said. 'I think if we get that third goal, the floodgates open. But we didn't and we let them back in it.'