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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
WASHINGTON -- The first-place Washington Capitals made the
trades that are supposed to send them to the Stanley Cup finals,
yet the last-place Anaheim Mighty Ducks looked more like the
playoff team Tuesday.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 33 saves for his second consecutive shutout -- and his fourth shutout in 10 games -- as the Mighty Ducks
won their season-high fifth in a row with the 2-0
victory Tuesday.
"Is it for real? Yes it is," Anaheim coach Guy Charron said.
"He has played real well and it has brought some confidence to the
team. And that's what good goaltenders do. They know if there is a
breakdown there is a chance he is going to make the save and he is
going to keep us in there. You don't get shutouts in this league
just by luck."
Samuel Pahlsson scored on Anaheim's first shot of the game, and
Tony Hrkac scored on the Mighty Ducks' first shot of the second
period in a free-flowing game that offered many clean shots at both
ends.
Giguere, who shut out Nashville 1-0 in overtime Sunday, has
five shutouts in nine victories this season and has held the
opposition scoreless for 143 minutes, 53 seconds. He has stopped 77
shots in that stretch.
"It's the combination of a lot of things," Giguere said. "I
see the puck well right now, but my defense is playing great."
The defeat ended the Capitals' five-game winning streak, and it
came hours after Washington announced three deals at the stroke of
the NHL's trade deadline.
Jan Bulis and Richard Zednik and a first-round choice in the draft this
year were traded to the Canadiens for Trevor Linden,
Dainius Zubrus and a second-round selection this year. Linden and
Zubrus could not arrive in time for the game, so the Capitals
scraped together a lineup that included usual defenseman Ken Klee
playing right wing.
But that had little to do with the defeat, according to coach Ron
Wilson, who said his team had been living on borrowed time by
winning games despite patches of poor play. Sunday, for example,
the Capitals were trailing 5-2 in the third period before rallying
to beat Ottawa 6-5.
There was no such rally Tuesday, despite three man-advantage
chances in the third period for the team with the top power play in
the league.
"We needed something like that to happen," Wilson said.
"Because I don't think we've put together enough complete games
recently, and we've managed to storm back with a good 20 minutes
here or something like that.
"Tonight we weren't mentally sharp at all. We didn't take
advantage of what the goalie was giving us. He was down and we were
shooting low. We just seemed out of sync, even on our power play."
The Ducks' five-game winning streak is their longest since a
seven-game run from Feb. 20 to March 7, 1999. They have recorded
back-to-back shutouts only once before in franchise history, on
Dec. 11 and Dec. 13, 1999, when Guy Hebert was the goaltender.
In addition to the Capitals-Canadiens deal, the Capitals and
Ducks also made their own swap, with Washington getting Jason
Marshall and Anaheim receiving Alexei Tezikov and a fourth-round
pick. Marshall did not suit up for the Caps, and Tezikov has been
in the minors all season.
The Ducks made their big trade last week, and it continued to
pay off Tuesday. Newly acquired Jeff Friesen got his fifth assist
in four games since joining Anaheim, using his speed to help set up
a give-and-go between Paul Kariya and Hrkac that resulted in
Hrkac's goal at 3:57 of the second period.
Pahlsson's goal was a clean blast to Olaf Kolzig's glove side
from the top of the left circle at 1:25 of the first.
Game notes
The Capitals-Canadiens trade was booed when it was
announced on the scoreboard during the first period. Zednik was a
popular player, and easily recognizable because of his bleached
blonde hair. ... The Capitals lost for only the third time in 20
games and were shut out for the first time since a 3-0 loss at
Minnesota on Jan. 10. It was their first shutout at home this
season.
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NHL Scoreboard
Anaheim Clubhouse
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RECAPS
Philadelphia 5
St. Louis 2
Anaheim 2
Washington 0
Vancouver 2
Detroit 2
Edmonton 5
Tampa Bay 4
Dallas 3
Chicago 0
New Jersey 6
Colorado 3
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