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Ovechkin, Capitals look to jolt Lightning

Nov 10, 2008 - 7:10 AM Tampa Bay (5-4-4) at Washington (7-4-2), 7:00 pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- The Washington Capitals have found a way to win despite Alex Ovechkin's scoring slump.

Ovechkin hopes to snap a nine-game goalless streak and lift the the Capitals to their third straight win when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday.

Coming off a 65-goal effort in 2007-08, the 23-year-old reigning Hart Trophy winner has just two goals this season.

Winning four of their last six, the Capitals have yielded just five goals in their last three games and goaltender Brent Johnson's strong efforts have seemingly forced coach Bruce Boudreau to handle a starting goalie controversy.

Johnson has started three straight games in place of Jose Theodore and posted a 2-0-1 record with a 1.63 goals-against average. Johnson is 3-1-2 with a 2.12 GAA in six games, while Theodore is just 4-3-0 with a 3.44 mark this season.

Lifting the Capitals to their second straight win, Johnson finished with 28 saves in the team's 3-1 drubbing of the New York Rangers on Saturday.

Washington has been sparked by Alexander Semin, whose 11 goals has him tied with New Jersey Devils left wing Zach Parise for second in the NHL.

Tampa Bay snapped a two-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday. Goaltender Mike Smith has started the past four games, but veteran Olaf Kolzig may get the nod from coach Barry Melrose in this game to face his former team.

Kolzig spent the previous 16 seasons with Washington, going 301-293-23 with 63 ties. However, when the Capitals traded for Cristobal Huet midway through the season, Kolzig was relegated to the bench and opted to sign with the Lightning this past offseason.

The 38-year-old Kolzig is 1-1-1 with a 2.67 GAA in three games this season.