• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Kozlov, Capitals rule over Senators

Nov 9, 2007 - 5:15 AM OTTAWA (Ticker) -- Eight was enough for Viktor Kozlov and the Washington Capitals.

Kozlov had a goal and two assists in the second period as the Capitals snapped the Ottawa Senators' franchise-best eight-game winning streak with a 4-1 victory on Thursday.

The Senators entered the game with a 13-1-0 record and 26 points, which is the best 14-game start of any team in NHL history. The previous record was 25 points, set by Detroit in 2005-06 and matched by Buffalo last season.

"For us, it's great to beat them, especially here in Ottawa," Kozlov said. "We had a good game and we earned a good win here tonight."

"It never feels good after a loss," Ottawa defenseman Wade Redden said. "But they were on a bit of a skid, and we were on a roll. It's tough and we certainly didn't expect it to end, but it was inevitable."

Nicklas Backstrom scored his first career goal and Tomas Fleischmann also tallied for Washington, which snapped a four-game skid.

Kozlov demonstrated his superior skating ability to open the scoring 12:10 into the second period.

After gaining possession of the puck in the offensive zone, Kozlov weaved his way around Redden in the right faceoff circle before converging on goaltender Ray Emery. Kozlov then backhanded the puck over Emery's blocker to give the Capitals a 1-0 advantage.

"The biggest thing for us was in the second period," Kozlov said. "Our PK killed a 5-on-3, and that was a big lift for the team and it got us going."

Just over two minutes later, Kozlov helped Washington double its lead on the power play.

Kozlov circled behind the net before wristing a shot in front. The puck eventually rested near Emery's left pad, but Backstrom alertly pushed it past the netminder and over the goal line to give the Capitals a 2-0 bulge.

"It feels good to finally score in the NHL, and it's great that it was in a big win like this," Backstrom said. "I think someone kept the puck and put it away for me."

Kozlov was not done assisting his mates. With 2:05 remaining in the period, the Russian fed Fleischmann coming off the bench to start an odd-man rush. Fleischmann skated across the blue line and wristed a shot over the Emery's right shoulder to give Washington a three-goal cushion.

Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson responded 54 seconds later, trimming the deficit to two and igniting the crowd at Scotiabank Place with his 11th goal of the season.

Mike Fisher and Dany Heatley expertly passed the puck in the high slot before Heatley found Alfredsson, who beat out-of-position goaltender Olaf Kolzig to get the Senators on the board.

"We knew this day was going to come eventually," Alfredsson said. "I think it was a game of missed opportunities for us. We had a chance right at the beginning of the game and didn't score, and we hit a couple of posts, too. We didn't score when we had a 5-on-3 power play.

"If we score on any of those opportunities, it forces them to open up, and then it's a different game."

It was the only goal allowed by Kolzig, who made 27 saves for Washington.

"Well, I was in the game early," Kolzig said. "I made that save on (Chris) Kelly in the first 10 seconds, and that was a pivotal moment, especially for a team that's maybe lacking a little bit of confidence. If we give that one goal up that quick, then everybody is probably wondering what kind of night it is going to be."

Alex Ovechkin, who leads the team with 10 goals and 18 points, scored with 3:46 remaining to restore the Capitals' three-goal advantage. Ovechkin raced up ice before beating Emery between the legs to cap the scoring.

"Before tonight, I think we've been playing well but not scoring goals," Ovechkin said. "Tonight, we got some goals and played a good game in other ways, too, and we were able to beat a very good team."

"They might be over there saying they didn't play their best game, and that's going to happen," Kolzig said. "They were 13-1, and we said in this room before the game that they were ready to be beat, for whatever reason. And we really stepped it up tonight."

Washington coach Glen Hanlon was happy with his team's effort and even happier to earn a win against the high-powered Senators.

"We played well tonight, but we've played extremely well in lots of games. We just weren't being rewarded," Hanlon said. "We've been focusing on the basics and we did some of those good things again tonight.

"(We got) two points, so hopefully this will reinforce what we've been trying to tell them."

Emery stopped 31 shots for Ottawa.