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Semin's overtime goal lifts Capitals over Thrashers

Jan 7, 2007 - 4:23 AM WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Alexander Semin was too much for the Atlanta Thrashers to handle.

Semin scored two goals, including the winner in overtime, to lift the Washington Capitals to a 3-2 victory over the Thrashers.

The 22-year-old Russian netted the decisive goal with just 18 seconds left in the extra session. After receiving a pass from defenseman Steve Eminger, the 2002 first-round pick skated in and put a backhander past goaltender Kari Lehtonen to give Washington its second straight win following a five-game skid.

"I had a bunch of chances to score on wrist shots or slap shots tonight," Semin said through an intepreter. "It just happened on the backhand tonight. When you're up against the goalie, you can't really do anything else except for that."

"He went on his backhand," Lehtonen said. "I was right there. Semin was able to get it up. That usually kills the goalie's chances. It was just a great move."

It was the 21st tally of the season and third in two games for Semin, who forged a 1-1 tie 41 seconds into the second period by backhanding a shot from the bottom of the left faceoff circle by Lehtonen while on a power play.

Washington had evened the contest with 7:42 remaining in the third, when Alex Ovechkin beat Lehtonen with a slap shot from the top of the left circle during a 5-on-3 advantage.

"I don't think about goals, but I want to score goals all the time," Ovechkin said. "When I score goals, I'm happy. It was a very important goal to us."

The tally was Ovechkin's 26th this season, tying him with Atlanta's Marian Hossa and Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis for the league lead.

Atlanta's J.P. Vigier was awarded a penalty shot late in the second period, but he failed to convert as his shot went through the pads of netminder Olaf Kolzig and caromed off the right goalpost.

"I put a pretty good shot on net and thought I got it through," Vigier said. "I got a little unlucky. I'm not sure if it hit (Kolzig's) pad and went to the post or just went that way. Unfortunately, those are the breaks, and it didn't go in."

Semin added an assist and Kolzig made 20 saves for the Capitals, who improved to 2-2-2 against the Thrashers this season.

Ilya Kovalchuk scored his third goal in four games and Steve Rucchin added a pair of assists for Atlanta, which has dropped three in a row and four of five. Kovalchuk has three goals and 10 points in six games against Washington this season.

Washington was 2-for-8 on the power play.

"It just drains our energy," Atlanta coach Bob Hartley said of his club being shorthanded. "We were playing a pretty strong game. We got in bad penalty trouble again. You just can't do it. We're fortunate. I'm not a big fan of that extra point, but right now we're getting two free points. It's there, so we'll take it."

The Capitals successfully killed four of the Thrashers' five man-advantage opportunities.

"It's huge," Washington center Kris Beech said of his team's penalty-killing prowess. "It's an indication of how important special teams are. Have a big kill and score a couple of power-play goals, that's how you do it. That's how you win games."