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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ATLANTA (AP) -- Washington coach Ron Wilson found the cure to the
Capitals' recent scoring woes Wednesday night.
Steve Konowalchuk and Jan Bulis each scored his eighth goal of
the season as Washington scored four first-period goals and beat the struggling Atlanta Thrashers 4-0.
|  | | Atlanta's Denny Lambert, left, tries to chase down the puck in front of Jeff Toms. |
"We've struggled the last week or so, but this is a good start
to a long road trip for us," said Wilson, whose club was coming
off consecutive shutout losses.
"The things we've worked on in practice finally paid off, and
we had people going to the net in the first period."
The Capitals chased Atlanta's Scott Langkow after the rookie goaltender gave up a goal to Dmitri Mironov at the 15:13 mark. Langkow faced only nine shots, allowing three goals.
"You've just got to forget about it. If it's done, it's done," said Langkow, who saved 33 of 37 shots in a 4-1 loss at San Jose Friday. "You've just got to -- if I get another chance -- go in
there and play hard again."
Washington needed only 46 seconds to score on his replacement,
Norm Maracle. Bulis' slap shot from the middle of the right circle
flew in the net on Maracle's glove side at the 16:27 mark of the
first period.
Konowalchuk put the Capitals up 1-0 only 1:47 into the game when
he tapped a rebound on Bulis' slap shot from the right circle. Adam
Oates then scored his third goal at the 6:57 mark by shoving the
puck under Langkow, who was sprawled out across the crease.
"We had traffic at the goal that made it difficult for their
goaltenders," Wilson said. "That's one of the reasons why the
pucks were going in."
Oates increased his team-high lead in power-play points to nine
as the Thrashers gave up their 32nd man-advantage goal in 143
chances -- an 80 percent rate that ranks 26th in the NHL.
The Capitals, who had lost three of their last four games, had
been shut out in their two previous outings. Goalie Olaf Kolzig,
who faced only 18 shots, won for the second time since Nov. 13.
"It's funny how it goes because I felt better against Montreal and Pittsburgh," Kolzig said. "But tonight I get the shutout and win."
The Thrashers, whose 18 points are the second fewest in the
league, lost their fourth straight.
"It looked like we were skating in sand out there tonight,"
Atlanta coach Curt Fraser said. "But that's another lesson for us
and one that we will take in tomorrow. We'll continue to work young
guys into the lineup."
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Washington Clubhouse
Atlanta Clubhouse
RECAPS
NY Rangers 8
Los Angeles 3
Washington 4
Atlanta 0
Pittsburgh 6
Carolina 3
Detroit 5
Edmonton 1
Florida 3
Nashville 2
Toronto 5
NY Islanders 1
Dallas 5
Calgary 1
Anaheim 4
Colorado 2
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