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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Washington Capitals had Vezina
Trophy winner Olaf Kolzig back in goal. It didn't matter to the
Nashville Predators thanks to Mike Dunham.
Dunham stopped 27 shots and Tom Fitzgerald scored two goals as
the Predators ruined Kolzig's return from knee surgery with a 3-1
victory Friday night over the Capitals.
|  | | With goalie Olaf Kolzig caught out of the crease, Capitals defenseman Joe Reekie keeps Nashville's Rob Valicevic from getting the easy goal. |
"Dunnie's been great," right wing Scott Walker said of Dunham,
who is 2-0 this season in helping the third-year expansion team to
its best start at 2-1-0.
Dunham missed the shutout when Steve Konowalchuk happened to be
in the right place at the right time in the third period.
Richard Zednik shot from the right circle, and the puck bounced
high off Konowalchuk's shoulder and off Dunham's head at 11:02 to
pull the Capitals within 2-1.
"It was just an unlucky bounce," Dunham said. "Those are the
breaks, but we got the win. I will take a win any day over a
shutout. Wins are what we need, and what we want."
Dunham made a sliding save on Peter Bondra and then stopped a
wide-open Adam Oates within the next two minutes. With Kolzig
pulled and the Capitals on a power play in the final 15 seconds,
Dunham stopped a shot by Zednik.
Kolzig, the NHL's best goalie last season, looked sharp in the
opening minutes despite having arthroscopic surgery on his right
knee just 17 days ago. He stopped a shot by Cliff Ronning on a
two-on-one and blocked the rebound shot by Patric Kjellberg.
"It means a lot to have him back," Bondra said of Kolzig.
"He's our star. He is our best player."
But Vitali Yachmenev pushed the puck over Kolzig's glove off
assists from Walker and David Legwand in the same area at 7:26 of
the first period. The goal was Nashville's first-ever in a home
opener.
Fitzgerald, who put the Predators up 2-0 with his first goal of
the season at 14:26 of the second, sealed the victory by knocking
the puck into the empty net with 1.8 seconds remaining.
The Capitals agreed they waited way too late to wake up.
"If we played like we did in the third the whole game, we
would've beaten them or at least tied them," defenseman Brendan
Witt said.
The Predators won despite looking like they were still suffering
jet lag from their season-opening two-game series against
Pittsburgh in Japan. With only three power plays the entire game,
they didn't get much rest during the game either.
The Capitals easily controlled the faceoffs, winning 40 of 62,
but they missed repeated chances to test Dunham by sending shots
wide of the goal.
Washington will head to Dallas still looking for its first
victory this season with a 0-2-2 start. Coach Ron Wilson said the
Caps have to finish when they create scoring chances.
"The puck doesn't go in the net, you're going to struggle. You
don't win many games when you only score one goal," he said.
Game notes
Washington plays the Dallas Stars on Saturday night for
their fourth road game in five starts. ... Yachmenev's goal came in
the 250th game of his NHL career. ... The Capitals faced 11 power
plays in their last game but only one from the Predators. ...
Walker now has three assists in the Predators' first three games.
... Fitzgerald is one point shy of 250 for his NHL career, and it
was his 12th two-goal game. ... Nashville plays the Carolina
Hurricanes Saturday night in the only back-to-back home games this
season.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Washington Clubhouse
Nashville Clubhouse
RECAPS
Ottawa 3
New Jersey 1
Carolina 2
Florida 2
Pittsburgh 3
Tampa Bay 2
Nashville 3
Washington 1
St. Louis 2
Minnesota 0
Edmonton 3
Buffalo 2
Los Angeles 5
Boston 0
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Tom Fitzgerald celebrates the first of his two goals against the Capitals.
avi: 426 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Predators goalie Mike Dunham stops Richard Zednik on a break away.
avi: 492 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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