WASHINGTON -- One thing went through Florida Panthers goalie
Tomas Vokoun's mind as he traded save after save with Washington
Capitals goalie Olie Kolzig in a shootout that went on and on and
on Wednesday night.
"Eventually," Vokoun said, "it's going to end."
That it did. Stephen Weiss put a backhander past Kolzig in the
11th round, and Vokoun then stopped Brian Pothier's wrist shot,
helping the Panthers beat the Capitals 2-1 for their season-high
fourth straight victory.
"I was relieved when I stopped that shot," Vokoun said.
The shootout, which ended 4-3, was the longest in Panthers
history and improved the team to 3-0 this season in a tiebreaking
format Washington star Alex Ovechkin called "a lottery." The
Capitals hadn't been involved in a shootout since March 15, 2007,
and they went 1-11 last season.
"Coaches love them when they're winning," said Capitals
interim coach Bruce Boudreau, 2-1-1 since replacing the fired Glen
Hanlon last week, "and absolutely hate them when they lose."
Vokoun blocked Ovechkin's wrist shot in the second round of the
shootout and also made a nice save on him with 12.1 seconds left in
overtime.
Indeed, Vokoun and his teammates managed to keep Washington
scoreless for a 4-on-3 power play over the last 1:59 of overtime.
Florida held Ovechkin without a point all game, ending his
season-best nine-game scoring streak, including when Vokoun stopped
a backhander after the Russian slipped behind the defense and came
in for a 1-on-1 opportunity with under 2 minutes left in
regulation.
"To be able to keep those guys -- Ovechkin -- off the scoreboard
was a huge job, especially in the overtime," said Florida's
Jacques Martin, who broke a franchise record with his 84th victory
as the team's coach. "I thought in the 4-on-3, the guys did an
outstanding job of blocking shots. They showed a lot of
desperation."
Vokoun made 32 saves before the shootout, four more than Kolzig.
"You've got to give Vokoun credit," said Capitals forward
Brooks Laich, who appeared to have Florida's goalie fooled in the
shootout but sent the puck over the net. "He made some great
saves."
Kolzig was nearly as good, although Weiss figured him out.
Weiss was asked what his approach was.
"I don't know. I don't really have one," he replied, before
adding: "I think (Kolzig) was tired by then, so maybe that
helped."
Olli Jokinen, Nathan Horton and Kamil Kreps scored Florida's
other shootout goals.
Viktor Kozlov, Nicklas Backstrom, and Boyd Gordon tallied for
Washington in the shootout.
Captain Chris Clark, who scored Washington's goal in the second
period, and Alexander Semin weren't available for the shootout
because of injuries. The Capitals wouldn't say what was wrong with
Clark, while Semin aggravated a bad right ankle.
This was the teams' third meeting in two weeks -- the Panthers
won the first two, too, each by a goal -- and they square off again
Saturday in Florida.
The Capitals created two great scoring chances early in the
third period, one off a shot by Dave Steckel blocked by Vokoun, the
other off a shot by Mike Green that found a post, and the hosts
failed to put in either rebound.
The game did not begin well for the Capitals, who were whistled
for one penalty 2 minutes into the game, and another for too many
men on the ice with 2 seconds left in that power play.
Florida took advantage, going up 1-0 less than 5 minutes into
the game on former Capitals forward Richard Zednik's eighth goal of
the season, off a rebound.
Washington tied it when Clark stole a clear attempt by
defenseman Steve Montador right at the blue line and quickly shot
past Vokoun with about 5½ minutes left in the second period.
"The one goal they got, I thought we gave it to them," Martin
said.
Game notes
The Capitals honored slain Washington Redskins safety Sean
Taylor with a pregame moment of silence and video tribute. On the
bench, Capitals backup G Brent Johnson wore a burgundy-and-white
Redskins hat in Taylor's memory. ... The attendance was announced
as 10,526, the Capitals' second-smallest of the season. They've won
three of 12 home games.