Washington Capitals vs. Atlanta Thrashers 1/9/2010

What do you get Coach Bruce Boudreau, a Jack Adams winner, on his 55th birthday? You give him a stellar win against friend John Anderson and his Atlanta Thrashers, of course. On a night when Capitals goalie Michal Neuvirth could have, and arguably should have been a star of the night with 38 saves, the Capitals rolled into Atlanta's Philips Arena later than expected, and rolled right over the competition.


Having faced issues with the charter flight the previous night, the team had to wait until morning to leave the D.C. area; only to play the same night against a Southeast Division team looking for their first playoff bid since the 06-07 season. What a birthday present it was for Boudreau, who saw his Caps come out a bit flat the first period, withstanding two separate Thrasher Power Plays opportunities when Boyd Gordon was called for tripping, and John Erskine was called for holding. Neuvirth held off the opponents facing 18 shots. Mike Knuble struck first getting the Caps on the board 1-0. With Atlanta on a Power Play minutes later, Alexander Semin scored a shorthanded goal, only to be followed by a Nicklas Backstrom goal late in the 1st to make it 3-0 in the final minute of play.

The Caps never looked back soundly defeating the Thrashers 8-1, with the only Atlanta goal coming off a Maxim Afinogenov tally late in the second.

Notables: Mike Knuble scored his 10th goal of the season, and Defenseman Tom Poti, whom Boudreau called upon to step up his offensive game now that he had earned the permanent “A”, scored a Power Play goal and earned an assist off of a second Semin goal in the 3rd period. Jason Chimera, newly acquired in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets, also scored his first goal as a Washington Capital.

Thrasher Captain Ilya Kovalchuk was held off the score sheet for the third time in as many games, ending the night with a -3. In the midst of contract negotiations, superstar Kovalchuk has to be weighing his role in the organization that was simply steamrolled by his future fellow Russian Olympians, Semin and Ovechkin.