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Theodore, Fleischmann lead Capitals over Canadiens

Nov 29, 2008 - 4:34 AM By Tim Hipps PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Jose Theodore got even with his former team.

Theodore stopped all 28 shots he faced and Tomas Fleischmann scored a first-period goal as the Washington Capitals skated to a 3-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Friday.

Theodore turned aside six shots in the first, 13 in the second and nine in the third en route to his first shutout of the season and 27th career.

"I knew in the first period I was seeing the puck well," Theodore said. "Even if I didn't see a lot of shots early, I knew I would need a good shot to beat me. I was seeing the puck."

Signed by the Capitals as a free agent during the offseason after spending two-plus seasons in Colorado, Theodore had dropped his only game against the Canadiens, who selected him 44th overall in the 1994 draft.

"Last game I played (against Montreal - he gave up eight goals with Colorado) was not a fun game," Theodore said. "I played 500 games with them, but you've got to turn the page. Tonight, I just wanted to help my team win a game. It was a hard-fought battle, and we responded with a lot of pride and character."

Alex Ovechkin extended his goal-scoring streak to three games and Dave Steckel also tallied for the Capitals, who have won two in a row after a three-game losing skid.

"Before the game, we looked over at him, and he was concentrating on the game," Ovechkin said of Theodore. "Today, he played unbelievable. We feel safe with him in the net."

Starting in place of Carey Price for the first time in seven contests, Jaroslav Halak made 27 saves for Montreal.

"That's where I'm embarrassed with the effort that we give in front of (Halak)," Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau said. "The kid hasn't played in two weeks, and we come up with that kind of game, that kind of effort. I'm really sad for him."

Washington coach Bruce Boudreau reached the 50-win plateau in 84 games behind the Capitals' bench. Jim Schoenfeld led the Capitals to 50 wins in 98 games from 1993-95.

The 2008 Jack Adams Award winner as the league's best coach, Boudreau was hired in late November last season and went 37-17-7 after inheriting a team that struggled to a 6-14-1 mark.

"(Theodore) was fabulous," Boudreau said. "The saves he made over a period of five minutes in the second period were pretty dazzling. If you're going to put importance on (the shutout), it would be for Theo's mindset. For us, it was the win."

Fleischmann opened the scoring with 8:57 remaining in the first period after stealing a clearing pass from behind the net and passing to Michael Nylander, who fed it back to Czech. Fleischmann beat Halak for his ninth goal of the season.

Fleischmann has five goals and eight points in his last eight games. Nylander has five assists in his last six.

Ovechkin doubled the advantage by sweeping in from the left side and stuffing a shot past Halak just 3:42 into the second. Ovechkin, who has recorded points in 10 straight games, entered the contest tied with Philadelphia's Simon Gagne for the longest active scoring streak in the league.

Steckel's goal off passes from defenseman Sami Lepisto and Brooks Laich gave the Capitals a 3-0 lead five minutes later.

"With (eight injured) guys out of the lineup, certain guys like myself are getting a little more ice time," said Steckel, who scored his fourth goal of the season. "Guys did a great job stepping up tonight. You can't say enough about (the younger call-ups). They came to play."

The Capitals improved to 9-0-1 at Verizon Center and remain one of only two teams - along with the San Jose Sharks - in the NHL without a regulation loss at home. Washington is 15-0-1 in its last 16 regular-season home games and is 30-8-4 under Boudreau. The Capitals' seven straight home wins match their longest home winning streak of last season and their best since winning seven in a row at home in 2000-01.

After skating to an 8-1-1 start, the Canadiens are 4-5-3 in their last 12 games.

"We knew they had injuries," Carbonneau said. "We knew how hard they work. We know the kind of record they have at home. They came to work - and we didn't respond."

Between Saturday and the NHL's Christmas break, the Canadiens will play 10 of their next 11 games at home. Montreal's only road contest in that stretch is a December 16 visit to Carolina.

"I don't think we thought it'd be easy, but definitely we let our guard down after beating Detroit - and maybe thought we were a better team than we really are," Canadiens right wing Tom Kostopoulos said. "We forgot how we beat Detroit by outworking them. I thought we were going to step on the ice and win but that's not the case and we know that. Unfortunately, we were on the wrong end again tonight."