Hey, at least the Caps won a fight on Tuesday. (USA TODAY SPORTS IMAGES)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Evander Kane and Blake Wheeler each provided a goal
and an assist, and the Winnipeg Jets suddenly transformed into an
offensive juggernaut, beating Alex Ovechkin's struggling Capitals 4-2
Tuesday night to end Washington's 10-game winning streak in home
openers.
Two games and two losses into the lockout-shortened
season - and new Washington boss Adam Oates' NHL head coaching career -
Ovechkin doesn't have a goal, the Capitals have been outscored 10-5, and
their opponents are 5 for 12 on power plays.
Andrew Ladd and Jim
Slater also scored, and Tobias Enstrom had three assists for Winnipeg
(1-1-1), which outshot the Capitals 39-34.
The Jets scored only
two goals in their first 137½ minutes of play this season. They matched
that total with a pair of power-play scores in a 4-minute span during
the first period Tuesday.
The Jets led 4-1, until Washington's Troy Brouwer scored on a power play with 76 seconds remaining.
Washington
also scored first, on Matt Hendricks' goal about 10 minutes into the
game. Ovechkin passed the puck across the ice to Nicklas Backstrom, who
sent it toward Hendricks, camped out alone in front of the crease.
Hendricks' right skate redirected the puck toward the net, and it also
ticked off his stick on the way past goalie Ondrej Pavelec. The goal
held up after a video review.
The Capitals' lead didn't stand
long. Winnipeg tied it about 2½ minutes later when Kane's attempt to
center the puck wound up in the net behind goalie Braden Holtby. The
puck went in accidentally after striking the boot of Capitals defenseman
John Carlson at the 12½-minute mark.
Then, with Carlson in the
penalty box for delay of game, the Jets went ahead 2-1. This time, with
Ovechkin and Backstrom on the penalty-kill, Winnipeg captain Ladd took a
one-timer from between the circles that clanged in off the right post
with 8 seconds remaining on the advantage.
The Capitals' second
game of the season was only 16½ minutes old, yet they already had
allowed goals on five of their opponents' first nine power plays.
Washington lost at Tampa Bay 6-3 on Saturday.
When the Capitals
got their first power play Tuesday, midway through the second period,
they managed only one shot - by Ovechkin, less than 30 seconds into the
chance.
Not long after that expired, Winnipeg again made
Washington's defense look shaky. Kane deked Carlson along the boards,
brought the puck into the left circle, and passed to Wheeler. He was
given too much space by defenseman Karl Alzner and sent a high shot past
Holtby.
Winnipeg boosted its lead to 4-1 with 45 seconds left in the second, when a shot by Slater was deflected through Holtby's legs.
Pavelec's 32 saves included a nice glove stop of a shot by Jay Beagle from close range about 4½ minutes into the third period.