CAPS GOALIE REPORT: KOLZIG TURNS IT ON

Red Line didn't get to see the game live but the word on the street is that Olie stepped up....

Caps' Kolzig Delivers In Must-Have Game
At 37, Goalie Comes Up With 39 Saves: Capitals 3, Lightning 2

By Tarik El-Bashir
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 17, 2008; D01

TAMPA, Feb. 16 -- During Olie Kolzig's slump last month, his slipping statistics might have led one to conclude that, at age 37, the lifelong Washington Capital was no longer an elite goaltender.

Performances like Saturday night's, though, suggest that any such conclusion was likely premature.

Kolzig kept his team in contention with 39 saves, then Alexander Semin scored with three minutes remaining to help the Capitals avoid a potentially embarrassing collapse and escape St. Pete Times Forum with an exhilarating 3-2 victory over the surging Tampa Bay Lightning.

Tomas Fleischmann and David Steckel also scored for the Capitals, who return to Washington with a 1-1-1 record on their three-game Southeast Division road trip.

"I think we could have gotten more," Coach Bruce Boudreau said. "But anytime you can go on the road, play three games in four nights, in games that all meant something to the other team, and come up .500, that's not bad."

The Capitals almost let Saturday's game slip away, however.

Vinny Prospal and Jan Hlavac scored 33 seconds apart in the final minutes of the third period to rally the Lightning from a 2-0 deficit. But 48 seconds after Hlavac's goal, Semin crashed the net and poked a rebound of Victor Kozlov's shot past Johan Holmqvist (32 saves) to restore Washington's lead.

"As I always say, 'Don't leave our games early,' " cracked Kolzig, who improved to 3-1-1 this month. "You kind of become immune to it."

Alex Ovechkin, meantime, was held without a point in consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 5-6. He took five shots in 21 minutes 52 seconds of ice time.

Last night, Ovechkin didn't need to carry the Capitals. That job belonged to Kolzig, who stopped all 24 shots he faced in the second period.

"He was very good," Boudreau said. "We got the 2-0 lead and you know what your head starts thinking. I didn't want to say the word [shutout]. Then they got the two goals back right away, but we were resilient.
"It was a great two points."

The Capitals' victory moved them into a second-place tie with Atlanta in the division, with 62 points, two behind Carolina.

"If you go on a three-game road trip and you come home with half of the points, you can't really complain," Steckel said. "It was a huge win for us."

Fleischmann added: "It's a big win and I think we deserved it. It's all coming down to the last 20 games of the season and it's going to be a great race. Every game feels like a playoff game right now."

The Capitals took a 1-0 lead on Fleischmann's first-period power-play tally, his second goal in two games. Semin set up the goal with a pretty cross-crease pass.

Kolzig kept the Lightning at bay with a brilliant second period -- the Capitals were out-shot 19-2 in the final 11:21 of the session -- before Steckel's strike at 13:52 of the third period, which extended Washington's lead to 2-0.

That's when the Capitals let down just long enough to almost blow it.

Prospal threw a puck in front, but it hit Kolzig's stick and slipped between the goalie's pads with 4:11 remaining to cut the Capitals' lead in half. Then Hlavac redirected a Filip Kuba point shot past Kolzig with 3:38 left to pull the Lightning even, 2-2.

"It's pretty devastating," Lightning defenseman Dan Boyle said. "But that was a pretty tough way to lose a game."

The defeat was the Lightning's first regulation loss in six games as it attempts to rejoin the wide-open Southeast race.

The Capitals were missing defenseman Tom Poti, their ice-time leader sidelined with a deep thigh bruise, and promoted prospect Sami Lepisto. The 23-year-old Finn made his NHL debut and looked comfortable and confident in 14:16 of ice time.

"He didn't seemed fazed at all," Boudreau said. "He was making great plays and he played within himself."

While Lepisto's performance may have come as a surprise, Kolzig's should not have. Since Boudreau began using backup goalie Brent Johnson more often, Kolzig has looked fresh in recent starts.

"He made all the big saves," Vincent Lecavalier said. "We worked very hard but didn't get it done."

Capitals Notes: Right wing Chris Clark missed his 34th game because of a groin tendon injury and defenseman Brian Pothier was sidelined for a 19th straight game because of a concussion.