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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) -- Dmitri Khristich was rewarded after a trying day.
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Khristich spent a lot of time killing time, but managed to score
a goal in his debut for the Washington Capitals and help them to a
3-2 victory Tuesday night over the New York Islanders.
"It's been a long day, but I feel great," Khristich said.
"It's nice to be in a system where you get results."
Khristich started his career with the Capitals in 1990. He has
made stops in Los Angeles, Boston and Toronto before rejoining the
team that drafted him 120th in the 1988 draft.
Khristich woke up at 6:15 Tuesday morning after being told the night before that he was traded from the Maple Leafs for a draft pick. He intended to catch a 9 a.m. flight to meet his new teammates on Long Island, but had a little problem.
"It was snowing in Toronto, so everything was delayed,"
Khristich said. "I didn't get a flight out until 2. And then the
delay here -- I'm a little tired, but happy."
The last holdup Khristich was talking about was a 46-minute
delay after the teams came out for the third period. The ice by the
support posts for one of the nets was weak. When the supports were
removed for the Zamboni cleaning, a chunk of ice came up too. The
hole went right down to the concrete.
Washington coach Ron Wilson said that goalie Olaf Kolzig
wouldn't play in that net if the area wasn't repaired.
"The bottom line was that there was a huge hole in the ice, and
if it took an hour to let the ice freeze, so be it," Wilson said.
"There was no way I was going to let Olie go in there if there was
a chance he would get hurt."
The Islanders, who held a long team meeting on Monday to try and
repair what is turning into another fractured season, with points
in just seven of 19 games (3-13-2-2), are still winless against the
Capitals in the last 18 meetings between the two clubs (0-16-2).
"This was definitely our best effort in the last three games,"
New York goalie Wade Flaherty said. "We have to build on this and get some wins."
The teams played a scoreless first period before Mariusz
Czerkawski gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal at
3:35 of the second period. His slap shot from the slot hit Kolzig's
glove and trickled in.
The Capitals tied it on Khristich's power-play goal at 16:28.
Off a faceoff, Khristich moved into the left circle, and one-timed
a slap-pass from Peter Bondra into the open net, as Flaherty had no time to react.
"That wasn't an easy play," Wilson said. "It may have looked easy on the slow-motion replay, but it was a tough pass for a one-timer, and he just cranked it."
James Black put Washington ahead at 17:35 when Joe Sacco's wrist
shot hit him and popped over Flaherty.
Dave Scatchard tied it with 55 seconds left in the second on a
wrist shot from the slot that deflected off a Washington player
past Kolzig.
Then, the ice was damaged
Islanders spokesman Chris Botta said that referees Terry Gregson
and Brian Murphy consulted with Mike Murphy from the NHL office.
Murphy decided to split the final period in half, with each goalie
taking the affected net for 10 minutes.
If the game reached overtime, the teams would have also split
that five-minute session in half.
Chris Simon scored the game-winner, into the unaffected goal, on
a power play breakaway at 4:39. Sergei Gonchar spotted Simon
breaking down the middle and fed him a pass. Simon skated in on
Flaherty beat him with a slap shot.
"I saw Sergei with the puck and cut across," Simon said. "I think we caught them by surprise. He made an excellent pass, and I just moved in and shot it quick and high."
In the same net, Kolzig made the save of the game just over two
minutes later, as he dived to snare Tim Connolly's wrist shot with his glove.
"Olie made a great save there," Flaherty said of the stop that
helped the Capitals to their fifth win in six games.
"We're finally back at .500," defenseman Joe Reekie said of
Washington (11-11-6-1). "Now, we can move forward."
Game notes
Islanders G John Vanbiesbrouck missed the game due to a
death in the family. The Islanders recalled top draft pick Rick
DiPietro from Chicago (IHL) to back up Flaherty. ... Each team lost
a player to injury in the first period. Capitals defenseman Ken
Klee left with an injury to his left leg, while Islanders leading
scorer Brad Isbister took a puck in the jaw and was being looked at
by an oral surgeon. ... Czerkawski's goal was his first on the
power-play this season. He was second in the league in that
category last season with 16. ... Islanders forward Steve Webb,
playing for the first since missing 11 games with a sprained left
knee, re-sprained the knee in the second period. He did not return
and will be reevaluated on Wednesday. ... The Islanders rewarded
fans who stayed through the delay by allowing them to turn in their
stubs for free tickets for the Jan. 9 game against Chicago.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Washington Clubhouse
NY Islanders Clubhouse
Airness meets ice: Jordan recommended as Caps' partner
RECAPS
Buffalo 3
Boston 0
Philadelphia 2
Nashville 2
Washington 3
NY Islanders 2
San Jose 3
NY Rangers 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Dmitri Khristich one-times a Peter Bondra pass into the open net for a Capitals' goal.
avi: 539 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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