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Ovechkin, Caps look to open season with third straight win

Oct 8, 2007 - 1:40 PM Washington (2-0-0) at NY Islanders (2-0-0) 2:00 pm EDT

UNIONDALE, New York (Ticker) - A pair of teams not used to fast starts get together on Monday when the Washington Capitals travel to Nassau Coliseum to meet the New York Islanders.

Left wing Alex Ovechkin, who scored his first goal of the campaign to give him 200 points in his career, has sparked the seemingly rejuvenated Capitals to their best start in five seasons, which also is the last time they made the playoffs. Only Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, who hit the 200-point mark in 142 games has reached that mark faster among active players.

Buoyed by the contributions of newcomers such as centers Viktor Kozlov, rookie Nicklas Backstrom and Michael Nylander - who have combined for two goals and three assists - Washington pulled off a pair of two-goal victories over the weekend against the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes.

It's not as if the Capitals have needed all that much offense though, as goaltenders Olaf Kolzig and Brent Johnson have stopped all but one of the 52 shots they have faced. Kolzig recorded his 35th career shutout on Saturday in the Capitals' 2-0 win on over the Panthers.

Much like Washington, New York is off to its best starts in some time - six seasons, in fact. And much like the Capitals, a newcomer has been a key reason why.

Center Mike Comrie, signed a free agent in the offseason after spending last season with the Ottawa Senators and Phoenix Coyotes, has scored two goals in each of the team's first two triumphs. Comrie and his linemates - left wing Ruslan Fedotenko and right wing Bill Guerin - have already combined for 16 points to pace the Islanders to their quick start.

New York has received some pretty solid play in net as Rick DiPietro has recorded 52 saves on 58 shots to start 2-0 for the first time in his career.

The 26-year-old netminder went 3-0-1 with a 1.47 goals-against average against the Capitals last season, and is 6-2-1 with a 1.99 GAA in his career against them - his best GAA against any Eastern Conference opponent.