Alexander Semin's first NHL goal was the game-winner as dead-last Washington defeated Atlanta, 2-1, in Washington.
With Ilya Kovalchuk in the penalty box for roughing, Robert Lang took the faceoff and carried it to Semin at the red line. Semin took the puck down the right side, deked it past Atlanta goalie Pasi Nurminen, dumped it into the far-side empty net, and curled around the left side, his arm spinning in celebration, while Nurminen slammed the puck down the ice in frustration. It took the Capitals six seconds to take advantage of Atlanta's mistake, and the late-period goal (at 19:30) had the Thrashers heading into the locker room with their heads down, while the Caps had a spring in their step at the start of the first intermission.
This ended a seven-day stretch in which the Capitals went 1-2-0-0, and ended a six-game road trip during which the Caps only picked up one point (a 2-2 tie against Toronto on October 13).
On the 25th, the Caps played well against Toronto, but still lost 4-1. On their return home on the 29th, the Capitals played poorly against the Ducks, and were lucky to lose by only two points, 4-2.
The game against the Ducks featured many shouts from the fans to, "Fire (head coach Bruce) Cassidy!" and the Capitals were booed off the ice. Last night, however, the excellent effort put out on by the opening line of Peter Bondra, Dainius Zubrus, and Semin had the crowd cheering, and the cheering continued throughout the night, with the only boos directed at couples who refused to kiss during the Kiss Cam in the third period.
The Caps remain at dead last in the NHL at five points; Atlanta slid from a two-way tie for second to a three-way tie for third at thirteen points.
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