Friday, Feb. 9 10:30pm ET
Bondra takes over NHL scoring lead
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ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Washington Capitals coach Ron Wilson says
Peter Bondra, Sergei Gonchar and Olaf Kolzig are a few of the
least-appreciated players in the NHL.
|  | | Peter Bondra had two goals Friday night to take over the NHL scoring lead. |
Wilson was glad he had them on the ice Friday night, though, as
all of them played critical roles in a 4-3 victory over the Anaheim
Mighty Ducks.
Bondra scored on a short-handed breakaway and later on a power
play to take over the NHL goal-scoring lead. Gonchar also scored
and Kolzig made 22 saves, including a beauty against Teemu Selanne
that kept Anaheim from grabbing the momentum in the second period.
"If you're a hockey fan or someone in the business, you
certainly know how important a Peter Bondra is to our team, or a
Sergei Gonchar, people who don't get much credit or accolades,"
Wilson said. "If you ask the general managers how good Peter
Bondra is, they'll tell you."
Bondra started the scoring at 12:19 of the first with his
club-record 28th career short-handed goal, after Anaheim's Mike
Leclerc drew a boarding penalty against Gonchar.
Kolzig stopped five point-blank shots during Anaheim's first
power play, before Oleg Tverdovsky made a lunging attempt to stop
Andrei Nikolishin's clearing pass and missed. Bondra played the
puck off the boards in the neutral zone and scored after putting a
nice fake on Guy Hebert.
"The game could have gone either way at that point because
nobody was dominating," Bondra said. "But Olie was there for us,
like he's been all year. He's our engine, and we just take the ride
with him sometimes."
Kolzig, last year's Vezina Trophy winner, has helped lead the
Capitals to first place in the Southeast Division with a 24-17-7
record and a goals-against average under 2.35.
"It just seems that the Washington Capitals don't get much
recognition for a lot of things we do," Wilson said. "I mean,
last year, if it was the media voting for the best goalie, it
certainly wouldn't have been Olie. Fortunately, it's one of the
only awards where hockey people (GMs) actually vote."
Bondra got his 32nd goal, and ninth in eight games, just 37
seconds into the second for a 3-0 lead. He beat Hebert high to the
stick side with a one-timer from the left point after drawing a
high-sticking penalty against Anaheim's German Titov.
Richard Zednik also scored, helping Washington extend its
unbeaten streak to a season-best five games. The Capitals posted
their first victory at the Pond since their first game here, a 5-2
triumph on Oct. 29, 1993 -- when Wilson was coaching the Ducks.
Anaheim captain Paul Kariya had a pair of second-period goals,
getting his second of the game and 15th of the season on a
breakaway for his 500th NHL point.
But Hebert surrendered four goals on Washington's first 17
shots. Hebert is 0-11-2 in his last 13 starts.
"Either we need to be more consistent defensively as a team, or
our goaltender has to come up with the kind of spectacular save
that other goaltenders seem to come up with to allow their team to
win the game," Ducks coach Guy Charron said.
"You look at a guy like Kolzig on a play that could have made
it 3-2, and he made a spectacular save against Selanne. To me, it
was the save of the game."
Game notes
Washington's victory was Wilson's first at the Pond since
Apr. 29, 1997, when the Ducks beat Phoenix in the seventh and
deciding game of the Western Conference quarterfinals. He was 0-3
with the Capitals. ... Wilson is 141-121-39 as Washington coach
after going 120-145-31 with Anaheim. The Ducks are 111-148-44)
since firing Wilson, who was dismissed following Detroit's
four-game sweep of Anaheim in the '97 Western Conference semifinals
-- a series in which three of the games were decided in overtime.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Washington Clubhouse
Anaheim Clubhouse
RECAPS
Atlanta 5
Boston 1
Philadelphia 5
NY Islanders 2
NY Rangers 4
Florida 2
Minnesota 2
Dallas 1
Calgary 5
Colorado 3
Phoenix 2
Edmonton 0
Washington 4
Anaheim 3
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Peter Bondra puts the moves on Guy Hebert for the short-handed goal.
avi: 459 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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