Ottawa Senators defenseman Filip Kuba tries to clear Washington Capitals right wing ... more >It was hard to miss the pain Sergei Gonchar was in. The Senators and ex-Capitals defenseman had just taken a shot to the right foot from Matt Hendricks with 2:25 left in the first period and skated gingerly until he was able to get to the bench, where he doubled over.
Gonchar didn’t take another shift, leaving with a bruised foot.
“It’s a bruise right now, so it’s going to be one of those day-to-day [things] depending on the pain threshold,” Senators coach Paul MacLean said afterward.
Gonchar, who is in the second season of a three-year, $16.5 million contract, played in Washington from 1995 to 2004. He was an All-Star three times with the Caps and was dealt away for Shaone Morrisonn and two 2004 draft picks, one of which turned into Jeff Schultz.
On this night, Gonchar’s injury — not a broken foot, he told Sport-Express’ Slava Malamud — forced the Senators to roll five defensemen. But Ottawa kept the Caps off the scoreboard the rest of the game.
“I think they did a great job as a group of five,” MacLean said, “and I think the forwards did a great job of helping out their defense tonight.”
Senators bounce back
Caps players and coach Bruce Boudreau talked about the Senators being a motivated team after getting thumped 7-1 by the Avalanche on Thursday night. And while Ottawa left Verizon center with no points, the game against the Caps signified progress.
“I thought we deserved a way better fate with the way we played,” MacLean said.
Added captain Daniel Alfredsson: “After what happened at home against Colorado, we had to have a bounce-back game in the sense that we do the little things right, we stick to the plan and we execute. And we did that tonight against a tough team on the road, so that’s really encouraging for us.
© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
Stephen Whyno is the Capitals and NHL reporter for The Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter (@SWhyno) or send him e-mail at swhyno@washingtontimes.com.
By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
Weekly agitation from a columnist who many believed to be one of the least likely to become known as a Conservative Republican.
Happiness is attainable. Morning to night. I love to teach, deal with folks that have an issue and really wish to tackle it and write.
This column will cover anything that has anything remotely to do with the game of baseball, from the game itself to mid-summer trades to offseason moves.
Benghazi: The anatomy of a scandal
13 Photos
Vietnam Memorial adds four names
18 Photos
Cinco de Mayo on the Mall
11 Photos
NRA kicks off annual convention
8 Photos
