• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Gelinas nets pair as Panthers dominate Capitals

Jan 20, 2007 - 10:19 PM WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- It appears that Martin Gelinas and the Florida Panthers have the Washington Capitals' number.

Gelinas scored twice as the Panthers dominated the Capitals for the second time in eight days with a 4-1 victory.

Florida pounded Washington, 7-3, last Saturday and goes into the All-Star break on a positive note after another strong performance against its Southeast Division rival.

Washington took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a power-play goal by Dainius Zubrus, his 17th tally of the season. But then it was all Florida.

The Panthers took control in the second by outshooting the Capitals, 18-3, and beating goaltender Olaf Kolzig for a pair of goals in a span of 3:17. Gelinas scored to tie it 2:42 into the session and Jozef Stumpel gave Florida the lead for good with a shorthanded tally on a breakaway just over three minutes later.

"The first period was kind of up and down, lot of chances on both sides," Stumpel said. "But they turned it over in the second period. We had a lot more scoring chances."

Ville Peltonen, who also had an assist, extended the lead to 3-1 midway through the final period and Gelinas capped the scoring with an empty-net goal with 49 seconds left as the Panthers snapped a two-game losing streak.

"I'd like to chip in more offensively," said Gelinas, who has only six tallies this season. "I know I have to do that for our team to have some success. It was a step in the right direction. Chances are there."

Washington All-Star Alex Ovechkin extended his points streak to nine games with an assist. It came during a 5-on-3 power play as he fed Zubrus, who scored from a tough angle at 3:31 of the first.

But that was the only mark against veteran Ed Belfour, who made 17 saves.

Kolzig was strong in net for the Capitals, stopping 38 shots to keep the game from getting out of hand.

"We like to hang our hats on being the hardest-working team in the league. The last two games we've played (against Florida), we've been outworked by the other team," Kolzig said. "I don't think you ever accept losing, but you tolerate it more when you lay it all on the line. When you're outworked, I don't think anybody can really swallow that."

"We had identified the game was up for grabs at the start of the second period," Washington coach Glen Hanlon said. "Olie always plays well, but this was a spectacular game. That's the biggest downer. You only can get so many performances like that in a year. You don't want to waste that on a loss."