| 27 January 2010
Last night was the Thrashers. Tonight was the the thrashing. Anaheim looked the worse for wear in the third period when the Washington Capitals danced circles around the Ducks to come out with a 5-1 victory, the eighth in a row for the Capitals and their longest winning streak in 26 years.
It was the second of back-to-back games for both teams, but as soon as the game began, there was foreshadowing of what was to come later. :36 seconds in, Alexander Ovechkin scored. For a brief moment, that sick feeling in the pit of the stomach had to wonder if the game would be a completely one-sided mugging in the nation's capital.
For two periods, things actually looked hopeful.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who has been putting down roots on the bench backing-up Jonas Hiller, actually got the nod in goal. He had not started since January 1, but he played with a vengeance and gave the Ducks a chance, despite the lopsided looking results.
In the first two periods alone, Giguere stopped 34 shots, and 44 overall because the Capitals could not find one last shot on goal to make it an even 50.
Dan Sexton did his part to tie up the game in the second period. Sheldon Brookbank's shot caromed juicily off Michal Neuvirth's pads and Sexton was in the perfect position to put it past the goaltender for his ninth of the year. That was the only thing Neuvirth let in behind him.
Going into the third period, the game remained tied 1-1 and then came the mugging. Shaone Morrisonn broke the tie with an unassisted goal at 1:45. Mike Knuble had a two on one with Ovechkin. Giguere played Ovechkin and Knuble took the quick pass and shot it into the gaping net at 2:39.
But wait! There's more! Alexander Semin made it a stifling 4-1 at 4:15 to make sure that the Ducks weren't going anywhere. 2:30 minutes, three goals, bye-bye two points that the Ducks had a chance of obtaining just a short while prior.
Semin's second goal of the game at 11:47 was just extra icing for the Capitals. The Ducks showed nothing but frustration for the majority of the third period, taking a few questionable penalties and letting emotions boil over.
The Ducks would have been better served to figure out a way to score on Neuvirth and take those positives with them to Tampa Bay for Friday night's game.
Instead, the Ducks take a 1-3 road trip to two final teams that have as good a record as Anaheim and will not be any easier than what they have already encountered on this journey. The Ducks also have slipped back down to 12th place in the standings due to an inability to produce points when needed.
There are 28 games remaining in the Ducks season. In order to reach the magic 95 points likely needed to earn an 8th seed in the playoffs, the Ducks will need to win 20 games. Or any combination that produces 40 points out of only 56 points remaining. 26 of those points (13 games) will be on the road. You do the math.
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