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WASHINGTON -- Every point matters more than ever to Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, who are part of a logjam in the Eastern Conference -- and on the outside of the playoff race, looking in, at the moment. Dave Winfield Blue Jersey . So blowing two-goal leads, as the Capitals tend to do, and losing key players such as centre Nicklas Backstrom to injury are not exactly what they want. All of those bad things happened to the Capitals in a 5-4 shootout loss Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Kings, who came back after Ovechkin scored two early power-play goals. "Obviously, you miss Backy, but every team has guys that go out," said Capitals coach Adam Oates, who would only say that Backstrom has an upper-body injury. "Youve got 19 other guys that have got to do the job. Weve got plenty of guys that can do the job." Also "being evaluated," as Oates put it, after the game was defenceman Jack Hillen, who was involved in a scary moment halfway through overtime, colliding with Ovechkin at centre ice. Hillens helmet slammed into Ovechkins chest, and the game was put on hold for a bit. Ovechkin got the wind knocked out of him and took a knee, but returned to the game. Hillen got the worst of the impact and remained face-down on the ice while a trainer checked on him. Washington is ninth in the East, one spot out of the playoffs based on tiebreakers, even though it is one of four teams with 80 points, alongside No. 7 Columbus, No. 8 Detroit and No. 10 Toronto. The Capitals have nine games left, starting Saturday at home against Boston. So among the Capitals, there was a mix of relief at the idea of picking up one point against Los Angeles -- and disappointment at failing to get two after leading 2-0 thanks to Ovechkin before the game was 7 1/2 minutes old, and then being ahead 3-1 entering the third period. "Theres no excuse. We have to find a way to win when we are up two goals," Washington forward Marcus Johansson said. "It hurts a lot. You never know when it comes down to it -- in or out (of the playoffs) by one point." Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter scored in the shootout for the Kings, and goalie Jonathan Quick caught Eric Fehrs attempt after rookie forward Evgeny Kuznetsov whiffed on Washingtons opening shot. Kuznetsov had tied the wild, back-and-forth game with 41.5 seconds left in regulation on his first NHL goal, a short-hander that came when he reached in to knock home a loose puck after it trickled through Quicks pads on Ovechkins shot. Plenty of fans thought Ovechkin was responsible for his third goal of the night, and they tossed their hats onto the ice. But his total stayed at a league-leading 48. While Kuznetsovs goal got the crowd excited, in the end, the Kings wound up winning their seventh consecutive road game and their fourth game in a row overall. They began Tuesday sixth in the West, and their playoff status is looking a lot more secure than Washingtons. Los Angeles coach Darryl Sutter wasnt pleased with the way his team started Tuesday. But he liked the way his players turned things around. "We just kind of hung in there," Sutter said. Mike Richards, Dwight King, Marian Gaborik and Dustin Brown scored for the Kings in regulation. The most important goal might have been Kings, which came 45 seconds into the third period and pulled Los Angeles within 3-2. "The boys stuck together, stuck with it," Kings defenceman Drew Doughty said. "We knew the whole time we were going to get back in that game." NOTES: LW Dustin Penner netted his first goal for the Capitals since arriving from Anaheim at the trade deadline. ... The Kings have seven victories in a row over Washington. ... Midway through the second period, Capitals F Troy Brouwer and Kings D Willie Mitchell were both called for penalties after a skirmish in front of Quicks net. Brouwer stayed down on the ice for a bit, then was helped up and led to the locker room. It wasnt immediately clear what was wrong. ... The Kings record is eight straight road wins, in the 1974-75 season. Chase Headley Blue Jersey . Now he can be had by any team willing to pay his salary. According to a report from ESPN, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are shopping the veteran CB and plan on releasing him Wednesday if they cant find a trade partner. Cameron Maybin Blue Jersey . Olivieri, at city hall to help kick off ticket sales for the Aug. 5-24 event to be held in four Canadian cities, said Wednesday that Canada has a new generation of talent on the rise that can make its name just as Sinclair did at the same event in 2002 in Edmonton.SURPRISE, Ariz. -- When a grounder ricocheted off Prince Fielders mitt during his first workout with the Texas Rangers, he quickly held it up and proclaimed with a smile, "Its new." So much is new this spring for the All-Star slugger. Hes in Arizona for spring training, not Florida. He has a No. 84 on the back of his uniform, not No. 28. And he is on a new team. "It felt good. It was a lot of fun," Fielder said. "Nice easy day, I had a lot of fun meeting my new teammates. So yeah, Im excited." Fielder joined other veteran Rangers players on the field for more than an hour Wednesday, taking grounders and some batting practice on the day before the first official full-squad workout. It was also the first day in camp for shortstop Elvis Andrus, who was also part of the session. After cutting off his dreadlocks during the off-season and going through some mixed martial arts workouts, Fielder appears trim. Asked he if had lost any weight, Fielder chuckled and said he didnt know for sure since he doesnt allow any scales in his house. "I feel great. Lost a couple of pounds cutting the hair, so that helps," he said. "I just want to be athletic and not carry around so much weight. ... I have no idea what it is, but I think I lost something. I definitely lost something." The Rangers acquired Fielder from Detroit in November in exchange for All-Star second baseman Ian Kinsler. Fielder was only two seasons into a $214 million, nine-year contract he signed with the Tigers before the 2012 season, when the Rangers also interested in him. Texas manager Ron Washington reiterated his plan to have Fielder batting third, after Andrus and before Adrian Beltre, who led the American League with 199 hits last season. "Prince Fielder, hes always been the protectoor, now Im going to make him the protectee," Washington said. Dave Winfield Authentic. The past three years, Fielder batted behind that seasons MVP -- Ryan Braun in Milwaukee in 2011 and Miguel Cabrera the last two years with the Tigers. Beltre has said it is Fielders turn to be an MVP. "Nice, that sounds good," Fielder said. "Im not going to argue that. I hope that happens." Fielder was the only player at first base Wednesday, while there were multiple players at the rest of the infield spots. He took grounders and made some throws, extending a segment by going "one more, one more" after a wide throw to second base that he didnt want to be his last. He seemed at ease with the ongoing banter initiated mainly by third baseman Beltre and Andrus. When middle infielders worked on turning double plays, Beltre came to the other side of the diamond and rotated with Fielder taking throws. Beltre told the middle infielders, "We got it, dont worry about it" after Fielder made a nifty pick of a throw in the dirt. "Everybodys laid back, they work hard," Fielder said. "Thats all you ask for, good people who work hard and everybody wants to have fun, which is a big deal when you have to be together with people for so long." Before talking to reporters for about 10 minutes, Fielder changed from his uniform to a black T-shirt with Mickey Mouses face on it. On the back was the No. 28, the number he wore through his 1,322 career major league games so far, with Milwaukee (2005-11) and Detroit (2012-13). "I just want Prince to be Prince. I dont want him to come here and try to think hes got to take us on his shoulder," Washington said. "I just want him to do what he does and let everyone else do what they do, and everything will work out." cheap jerseys from china cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
