Time CAPSule - Kozlov's shootout goal wins it for Caps 3/26/08

Earlier this season, we posted Alex Ovechkin's early years in DC](https://www.nhl.com/capitals/news/early-times-of-the-great-eight/c-311761890) and another Nicklas Backstrom's five-year contract extension](https://www.nhl.com/capitals/news/backstrom-takes-center-stage/c-313921356). In the process of crafting those stories and talking to the subjects themselves and many others, we were reminded of how exciting and thrilling the 2007-08 NHL season was in these parts.
It stands as Ovechkin's career year, it was Backstrom's rookie year, Bruce Boudreau took over behind the Washington bench on Thanksgiving Day, and the Caps made the playoffs for the first time in five years, winning 15 of 19, 11 of 12 and seven straight at season's end to come back from a dismal 6-14-1 start to win the Southeast Division title.
That season and that run into the playoffs augured in the "Rock The Red" era of hockey in DC, the beginning of 11 playoff appearances in a span of a dozen seasons. At this time a dozen years ago, the Caps were in the midst of that wild run. With the NHL's 2019-20 season "paused" for the foreseeable future, we're going to spend the next month looking back at the day-to-day of that remarkable late-season run, revisiting some of our coverage at the time with some fresh hindsight mixed in. On the off days between games, we will revisit some events from earlier in that landmark season. Enjoy!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008
The Caps wake up today in Tampa Bay, hours after earning their sixth win in their last seven games, a vital 3-2 shootout victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh a night earlier.
After falling down 1-0 on a Carolina power-play goal in the waning seconds of the first period, Washington rallied to take a 2-1 lead on two goals in less than three minutes midway through the second.
First, Alexander Semin tied it on a Caps power play at 7:15, scoring his 23rd goal of the season. Alex Ovechkin became Washington's all-time single-season goal scoring leader when he netted his 61st of the season at 9:41, giving the Caps a 2-1 lead. But the Canes got even on Erik Cole's power-play goal late in the second.
After a scoreless third, the Caps won it when Viktor Kozlov scored the only goal in the shootout. Kozlov was the T.J. Oshie of his day, one of the more automatic shootout shooters in the NHL. When he beat Cam Ward to give the Caps the extra point, Kozlov improved to 16-for-31 (51.6%), which was fifth all-time in the NHL at the time, among those players with 20 or more career attempts. Kozlov finished his career at 46 percent, which ranks 11th all-time.
With the win, the Caps moved to within four points of Carolina for the top spot in the Southeast Division. Both teams have five games remaining, including one more head-to-head matchup on April 1 in Washington.
Here's how the Eastern Conference standings looked on the morning of March 26 (\denotes division leader):
\Montreal 96
\Pittsburgh 95
New Jersey 91
Ottawa 91
NY Rangers 89
\Carolina 88
Philadelphia 88
Boston 86
----------
Washington 84
Florida 81
Buffalo 81
Toronto 80
\\\\\\
Postgame Notebook and Quotebook
Move Over, Dennis - Dennis Maruk established the Caps' franchise record for most goals in a season in 1981-82 when he scored 60 goals. Maruk netted his 60th on Apr. 3, 1982 against the Maple Leafs' Vincent Tremblay in a game televised on Hockey Night in Canada. The goal was his second of the game, and it came in Washington's penultimate game of the season.
That record stood for more than a quarter century.
Maruk held the mark for nine days shy of 26 years, but he yielded to third-year left win Alex Ovechkin, who netted his 61st of the 2007-08 season here in Raleigh on Tuesday night off a beautiful feed from center Nicklas Backstrom. The goal gave Washington a 2-1 lead and helped the Caps pick up two desperately needed points as they went on to a 3-2 shootout victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.
We're running out of superlatives for this kid Ovechkin, and he is only 22 and not quite finished with his third NHL season. With his 11 shots on goal tonight, he now has 421 on the season, just four shy of the career best he established as a rookie.
Years from now, everyone will remember the goal Ovechkin scored tonight in Raleigh, but there was a shift in the second period that absolutely typified the way he plays the game.
Caps defenseman Milan Jurcina lost his stick in the defensive zone, and Ovechkin quickly passed his stick to the big Caps blueliner. It's always better for a forward to be without a stick than a defenseman in the defensive zone, but even better when the defenseman is given a stick from a forward who shoots the same as him. Both Jurcina and Ovechkin are right-handed shots.
After Ovechkin had sacrificed his stick, the puck came around the wall to the left of Caps goaltender Cristobal Huet. Ovechkin raced over and flung the puck out of the zone with his hand, giving him time to get to the bench for another branch. He literally galloped over to the bench, collected the new stick from head equipment manager Brock Myles, and then honed in on Carolina defenseman Bret Hedican, who had just taken control of the puck in front of his own bench.
Ovechkin freight-trained Hedican, just laid him out.
He didn't score on that shift, but Ovechkin managed to display his hockey sense, defensive awareness, speed and physical brute force all in the span of several seconds.
"I just do what I can," said Ovechkin. "I just give my stick to Juice, because Juice broke his stick and he's a righty. I just go back to my spot, the pass comes to me and I just put it back in the neutral zone.
"Brock gave me a nice assist on the hit. It was pretty funny."
Some of us will remember that sequence as much as the goal.
"I don't know how many shots he had, but he must have had 10 on net," said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau after the game. "And some of the best bodychecks you'll see all year. There's not too many guys who can do all that."
Huet Huge Again - Cristobal Huet is now 6-2 in his eight starts since joining the Caps a month ago in a Feb. 26 trade with Montreal. He has a 1.92 goals against average and a .926 save pct. in those eight games. Huet has allowed two or fewer goals in six of his eight starts, and has not allowed more than three in any of them. He has surrendered only five even-strength goals in his eight starts.
Huet now has a four-game winning streak, matching his longest of the season. He has yet to be beaten in the shootout since joining the Caps. Huet has stopped all five shootout bids he has faced.
"Everything that Cristobal saw, he saved," said Boudreau. "They didn't have as many chances but the ones they had were pretty dangerous. We let them walk right down the slot. As good as Cam Ward was, Cris did what he had to do."
Comeback Kids -Tonight marked the 15th time the Caps have come from behind to win a hockey game since Boudreau took over behind the Washington bench on Nov. 22. The Capitals are 32-17-7 under Boudreau's tutelage.
Closing In -With two assists on the night, Backstrom has 52 on the season. He is now two helpers shy of matching Ovechkin's team record for assists by a rookie in a season. Backstrom also has 66 points, one shy of matching Bobby Carpenter and Chris Valentine for the second best point total ever by a Caps rookie. Carpenter and Valentine both recorded 67 points in 1981-82.
Backstrom now leads all NHL rookies in scoring. He is one point ahead of Chicago's Patrick Kane, who has played one less game. Backstrom is now plus-11 on the season, second among all rookie forwards in the league. St. Louis' David Perron is first with plus-13.
Seven Up -With a record of 38-31-8, the Caps are seven games to the good side of what passes for break-even in the NHL for the first time since the end of the 2002-03 season, when they were 39-29-8-6.
Under Review - Tonight marked the fourth time a goal in a game between the Caps and Hurricanes was under review in this building this season. All four went against Washington.
More Marks for the Marksman - Ovechkin's goal was also his 107th point of the season, establishing a single-season career high. It's the second highest total in Caps' history; Maruk had 136 points in 1981-82. Ovechkin had 106 points as an NHL freshman in 2005-06.
Ovechkin has 13 goals and 24 points in the month of March, matching his highest goal and point totals for any single month in his career. He had 13 goals in January, 2008 and 24 points in March, 2006. He has two games remaining this month.
Ovechkin fired 11 shots on goal on Tuesday, giving him 421 for the season. That puts him just four shy of matching his single season career high of 425, established in his rookie season of 2005-06. Ovechkin is the only player in this decade to record more than 400 shots on goal in a season. He is on pace for 448, which would be the second most in a single season in league history.
Boston's Phil Esposito holds the NHL record with 550 shots on goal in 1970-71, the same season in which he became the first player ever to break the 60-goal barrier. Esposito scored 60 goals for the Bruins that season.
Winners - With Tuesday's win, the Caps have ensured themselves of a winning record for a fourth consecutive month. Washington was 7-3-3 in December, 9-4 in January, 6-4-3 in February and is now 8-4 in March.
The last time the Caps posted a winning record in four straight months of the same season was from Jan.-Apr. 1987.
Shoot First, Ask Questions Later -Carolina is second only to Detroit in shots on goal. The Canes entered Tuesday's tilt with an average of 32.5 shots on goal this season. With a record of 14-3-1 in their previous 18 games before tonight, the Canes had outshot the opposition by a combined 622-512 in those games. They averaged 34.6 shots per game during that stretch.
Got His Number -The Capitals have had trouble against Carolina netminder Cam Ward. He is now 10-3-1 lifetime against Washington. But Caps left wing Alexander Semin doesn't have much difficulty with Ward. Semin potted his 23rd goal of the season against Ward on Tuesday and now has eight goals in 10 career games against the Canes' goaltender.
Fast Firsts - In 10 March games, the Hurricanes have netted at least one first period tally in nine of them. Carolina has scored 17 goals in the first period of those 10 games. The Canes are now 8-1-1 this month, and their only regulation loss came in the only game in which they did not score in the first period. That was on Mar. 14 at Buffalo when the Canes surrendered four Sabres goals in the first but scored none of their own on their way to a 7-1 setback.
Carolina's lone first period goal in Tuesday's game with the Caps came with just 13.3 seconds remaining in the first period. Carolina also suffered a rare defeat when leading after one period. The Canes are now 21-4-1 when leading games after the first 20 minutes.
Degrees of Separation - Hurricanes rookie Joe Jensen is the nephew of former NHL forward Dave Jensen, also known as David H. Jensen. David H. Jensen is not to be confused with David A. Jensen; both were members of the 1984 U.S. Olympic team.
David A. Jensen holds the distinction of being the first player drafted in the first round of an NHL draft before his senior year of high school (Hartford's first choice, 20th overall in 1983). David A. Jensen is an ex-Cap; he came to Washington from Hartford at the trade deadline in 1985 in the deal that sent Dean Evason - now a Caps assistant coach - and Polish goaltender Peter Sidorkiewicz to the Whalers. The deal was made on Mar. 12, 1985.
On This Date in NHL History - Ex-Caps forward and current Dallas Stars head coach Dave Tippett netted the first goal of his NHL career on this date in 1984 while playing for the Hartford Whalers against the Quebec Nordiques.
Happy Birthday - To ex-Cap forward Ted Bulley, born on this date in 1955. And to ex-Caps center Andrei Nikolishin, born on this date in 1973.
Down on the Farm -The ECHL South Carolina Hurricanes were also in the state of North Carolina on Tuesday, taking on the Charlotte Checkers in Charlotte. South Carolina came away with a 5-2 win.
The Stingrays got goals from five different players and Davis Parley made 30 saves in the South Carolina nets to earn his 22nd victory. Todd Griffth, Pierre-Luc O'Brien, Trent Campbell, Nate Kiser and Matt Smith scored for the Stingrays.
The Rays now have 87 points and are tied for second place in the ECHL's South Division with Gwinnett.
POSTGAME QUOTEBOOK
Boudreau
On the game:
"All we can do is win. We gained a point on them. We didn't lose any on Boston and Philly, who both won. We've just got to keep winning and hope for the best.
On the nature of the goals Carolina scored:
"The first one was not even an attempt at a shot. They seem to get a lot of breaks in this building. Two [visits] ago here they had two goals that went to videotape and both of them were reviewed in their favor. And tonight one was reviewed in their favor. I'd like to know if the call was made in Toronto or made here because of all our views, we never saw the puck cross the line."
Ovechkin
On the record-breaking goal:
"I'm history."
On what the record means:
"It's fun to score goals, especially when you break some records. But right now the situation, the record is the record. It's all about winning, it's all about team.
On what the game means:
"We still have five games and [we're] four points behind Carolina. Just have to continue and don't have to look too much forward. Look to next game against Tampa. Everything can happen, you never know. We know Boston won, Buffalo lost, Florida lost and Philly won in overtime. We're watching. But we're not looking forward too much. Only the next day."
On the call he received from Maruk on Tuesday:
"He called me after the warm-up, after morning skate. He told me good luck, congratulated me. He tells me just to keep going and don't stop pushing forward and good luck."
On the hard-hitting nature of the game:
"Well, yeah. It was a huge game for them. If they win this game they probably move forward and we can't catch them."
Caps center Brooks Laich
On the hard-hitting game that the Caps and Canes played:
"Bruce warned us before the game that it was going to be like that. We hadn't played since Friday and they hadn't played since Thursday. They were desperate, hungry and fighting for it. They were finishing checks and we were the same way. It was just a great hockey game. Vik gets it done in the end and Huey comes up with three big saves for us in the shootout."
On what the game means in the standings:
"We haven't given up hope. Our goal since Bruce got here was to take away the division. Unfortunately, they get a point tonight, too. But we're looking at the bigger picture. We want to be in the playoffs. Whether it's eighth or seventh or whatever, we just want to sneak in somehow. The two points we got tonight - and I haven't checked the other scores or anything - puts us to 84 and we're right in the thick of things."
Huet
On Carolina's second goal:
"That's the kind of play that is nobody's fault and it's hard to play it. Mo is going for the puck and he pushes Cole a little bit. Cole did a great job going to the net and a few bounces and it was in."
On Carolina's first goal:
"I didn't see anything. I knew nobody was in the slot. I was kind of relaxed and tried to see on top of the guy's shoulder in front of me. Nobody was in the slot so I was ready for a one-timer from [Eric] Staal. I've never seen something like that."
On what the game means:
"We're happy to get the win. It would have been worse to lose that game, even in overtime. We're happy for the two points. Obviously it's going to be hard to catch them but there is another race. We will have to take some points and we'll see."
On whether facing a net-crashing team like the Canes makes for a tough night:
"Not really, but they're doing it very well. They put some bodies in front of the net and create traffic. Once the shot is released, they all go to the net. We did a good job of not letting them get any second chances. We did a good job, it was just unfortunate to have those two bounces."
On the defense getting sticks into passing lanes and breaking up lateral passes:
"Our PK is outstanding, but once again we give up two goals. It's a little frustrating for the four guys working. I think they're doing a terrific job. We try to avoid those passes in the lost and keep them on the outside and have them shooting from the wall. We did a good job once again, I thought.
Caps forward Viktor Kozlov
On where his game-winning shootout tally beat Ward:
"I think the far side, up. I know it's a little bit easier for forwards who are shooting for us if Cris stops three before. It takes the pressure off our shoulder a little bit.
On what tonight's game means:
"You have to look at the next game. The next game is important for us, even more important for us. We cannot look far ahead. We have to play game-by-game."
On the shootout in general:
"Here, compared to Russia, in Russia they shoot in the playoffs. So I think it's more difficult over there. Here, if you lose the game you lose the game. You got the point. Over there, if you lose the game you might lose the series. It's an honor if the team trusts you to shoot in the shootout."
On Ovechkin:
"I hope he keeps going. We need him big time right now in the last five games and I hope he continues scoring."