As the Capitals' winless skid hit eight games, panic had set in throughout the District of Columbia.
There was talk of head coach Bruce Boudreau being fired, speculation that Alex Ovechkin had temporarily lost his mojo and a general sense of disbelief regarding the team's prolonged struggles.
After emerging out of the slump with back-to-back wins, the Capitals played a gutsy game against rival Pittsburgh, losing a close one in a shootout.
While they didn't come out of the game with the two points they coveted (and needed after dropping eight in a row), they showed they would not be intimidated by a Penguins team that is firing on all cylinders.
The team's frustration during the slump was obvious, as the players seemed to get away from playing their style of hockey. Ovechkin misfired on shots, going another nine games scoreless. Mike Green, plagued by injuries this year, has limped through easily his worst offensive season since his rookie campaign.
Both Ovechkin and Green used the game against Pittsburgh to reverse their fortunes, beginning with Ovechkin's thundering check on fellow Russian Olympian Ev ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Ryan Davenport
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December 28th, 2010 by Ryan Davenport Leave a reply »
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