Columbus sees firsthand that Ovechkin is a monster
by Dave Seaman, Columbus Wired

Alexander Ovechkin made his first National Hockey League appearance at Nationwide Arena Tuesday and did what he does best—score goals.

Ovechkin scored the game-winner in overtime to lead the Washington Capitals past the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 in front of 14,450. It was his second of the game and NHL leading 45th of the season.

“It’s all about work,” he said. “He (Alexander Semin) tried to give me more space and I saw an empty net between (Jackets goaltender Fredrick Norrena) legs and I just shot over there. It was pretty exciting game for us, we were down 2-0 and we won the game.”

Semin and Tom Poti scored for the Caps, while Brent Johnson made 28 saves for the win.

The story of the game for Columbus was not the game, but the loss of goaltender Pascal Leclaire, who left the game late in the second period with a neck injury. He was hit hard by teammate Jan Hejda and Capitals left wing Quintin Laing, who was called for goaltender interference.

Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock said Leclaire has a neck contusion and the team is hopeful he can play Sunday against Los Angeles. Steve Mason will most likely be recalled to back up Norrena for a brief two-game road trip this week.

“Unfortunately Pazzy got hurt because I thought he had a real bead on the game.” Hitchcock said. “He was playing terrific and he was giving us every opportunity. Fredrik is going to have to play better and if Mason is the guy, we’re going to take a look at him.”

Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said the hit was accidental.

“I thought Quint was trying to hold up,” he said. “I hope (Leclaire) is not hurt.”

Rick Nash scored his first two goals since the All Star break to lead the Jackets, while Jason Chimera, who recently signed a four-year contract extension, added one.

With everyone’s eyes on Ovechkin with the Capitals on a five-on-three advantage, Nash stole the puck from Nicklas Backstrom and skated the length of the ice and went five-hole on goaltender Brent Johnson. It is the first time in franchise history (547 games) that the Jackets have scored a shorthanded goal down two men.

Columbus made it 2-0 just 41 seconds later when Chimera tipped in a Rostislav Klesla slap shot that was deflected off the stick of Michael Peca.

Ovechkin scored his 44th goal of the season on a breakaway to pull Washington to within a goal at 13:34 of the second.

“He’s pretty shifty and he’s got a great sot so he doesn’t need a lot of room,” Jackets defenseman Rusty Klesla, who had an assist, said. “If someone can help you squeeze him a little bit, that’s good help. I thought we did a good job, but he still scored two goals. He’s just a special player having a great year.”

Norrena came into the game for Leclaire at 4:39 remaining in the second. The Capitals quickly took advantage. At 18:13, Norrena misplayed the first shot he faces and allowed Semin to hit a backhand shot into an empty net.

Nash broke the tie four minutes into the third when he went top shelf on Johnson. Nash got an unintentional assist from the referee Bill McCreary, who took out Capitals defenseman Shaone Morrisonn that allowed Nash to go one-on-one with Johnson.

“You take them and way you can get them when they’re not coming easy,” Nash said. “It’s two breakaways, I was able to beat the goalie, but the main thing is that we needed the two points.”

Poti retied the game at 13:07 with a slapshot from just inside the blue line along the boards. The puck moved so fast that it was not initially called a goal until it was reviewed. The puck nipped the crossbar and bounced off the back of the net and right back out.

Before he was injured, Leclaire had 23 saves. Norrena gave up three goals on 13 shots. The Caps outshot the Jackets 37-31.

Columbus plays at Phoenix tonight and San Jose on Friday before returning home to host the Kings on Sunday at 6 p.m. The team knows the what’s on the line in the two-game road trip.

“It’s important—we play two Western Conference teams that are above us,” Chimera said. “We’ve got to get back in the race here and get back going. (The trip) is going to be huge.”