As Brent Johnson put it, "That was just an odd game." That might sum it up best. This game tape might end up in the trash a little sooner than others.

Team A fires shot after shot but Team B holds slim lead. Team comes back for another period and continues to shoot and shoot. Team B scores fluky/soft/unexpected goal. Rout commences. This is not the first time said formula has happened in this league.

Some notes before I write the game story:

* No further news on Tom Poti. Saw him walking to the bus, but he didn't want to say anything about his injury. Bruce Boudreau said he doesn't know how long he will be out. Poti took only five shifts, and the Caps just went with five defensemen the rest of the way.

*While the Caps lost, so did the Hurricanes. Honestly, Caps fans should have been rooting for Carolina in that game considering it was against Boston. It is kind of crazy to think that Caps fans should be rooting for the second-place team in the Southeast only 35 games into the season, but expecations are a bit higher these days.

* Riley Cote should not fight Donald Brashear anymore. Brashear racked up 26 PIMs thanks to two fights, two roughing infractions and his near scrap with Aaron Asham at the end of the game. He had an ice bag on his leg and was limping after the game -- Asham's two-handed chop to that leg might have had something to do that.

* The Caps had 25 shots through one period (a team record on the road and tied for the most anywhere) and 39 through two.

* Brent Johnson said he should have had the first goal; Boudreau said he should have had the second goal. All in all, not a good night from Johnson, but it probably wasn't going to matter.

Jose Theodore replaced him for the final 20 minutes. Boudreau said it was to get Theo some work -- instead of starting him in his first action back from the hip injury. He didn't have much help in front of him, but that probably wasn't the type of comeback (four goals on 15 shots) Theodore was looking for.

* Jeff Carter now has four shorthanded goals. He is tied for the league lead with Mike Richards and Simon Gagne. The Philly trio has at least five more shorties than any other team in the league.

* Alexander Ovechkin had 12 shots and six hits. He only had a couple of great chances though, and they came early in the game.

* There were several dozen hats thrown on the ice when the fans thought Jeff Carter picked up a hat trick on Phildelphia's fifth goal. It was actually Scott Hartnell that batted it out of the air. Somehow, there were still a few dozen more lids on the ice after Hartnell completed his trick late in the third period.

* Bruce Boudreau on the Flyers' top line looking for more offense in the final few minutes of the game:

"What goes around comes around -- and it will."

* The Caps are off tomorrow and will practice Monday in Arlington to prepare for a Tuesday night tilt at The Garden.

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