Varlamov blanks Sabres 2-0, Ovechkin ejected

WASHINGTON (AP) Alex Ovechkin skated off the ice, surprised that a hard shoulder check warranted a game misconduct. The Washington Capitals, tired of surrendering late leads with lackluster play, turned his absence into a rallying point.

Semyon Varlamov made 25 saves for his first regular-season shutout, Ovechkin scored before drawing the third-period ejection and the Capitals beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-0 on Wednesday night.

"You lose the most prolific scorer on the planet Earth, which is tough," said Washington defenseman Brian Pothier. "But you have to kill a 5-minute penalty. As Ovie's skating off the ice, we're telling him, 'We've got this one for you.' He does so much for our team. Every night, he bails us out. We could sure do it for him." (MORE)

Capitals Headlines

Final	1	2	3	Tot
Buffalo	0	0	0	0
Washington	1	0	1	2

Preview | Box | On the Ice | Recap

Final Boxscore

Three Stars
1:	Semyon Varlamov, Was (25 Saves)
2:	Alex Ovechkin, Was (1G)
3:	Brian Pothier, Was

Standings
Southeast Division
	W	L	OTL	Pts
Washington	14	5	6	34
Atlanta	11	7	3	25
Tampa Bay	9	6	7	25
Florida	10	9	4	24
Carolina	5	14	5	15

Leaders
Points:	A. Ovechkin	27
Plus/Minus:	A. Ovechkin	11
Shots on Goal:	A. Ovechkin	104
PIM:	A. Ovechkin	29
Win:	S. Varlamov	9
Shutouts:	S. Varlamov	1

Offense (Rank)
Goals:	85 (2)
Shots:	789 (4)
PP%:	22.9% (6)
Penalty Minutes:	261 (25)
Assists:	145 (2)
SH Goals:	0 (30)

Defense (Rank)
Goals Against:	71 (10)
Shots Against:	757 (8)
PK%:	78.4% (21)
Penalty Minutes:	249 (27)
Shutouts:	1 (22)
Sv%:	0.906 (20)

Next 5
Date	Opp	Previous
11/28	@ Mon	L 2-3 11/20
11/30	@ Car	-
12/3	vs. Fla	W 7-4 11/7
12/5	@ Phi	W 4-2 10/27
12/7	@ TB	-
Full Schedule

Last 10
Date	Opp	Final
11/25	vs. Buf	W 2-0
11/23	@ Ott	L 3-4
11/21	@ Tor	L 1-2
11/20	vs. Mon	L 2-3
11/17	@ NYR	W 4-2
11/14	@ NJ	L 2-5
11/13	vs. Min	W 3-1
11/11	vs. NYI	W 5-4
11/7	vs. Fla	W 7-4
11/6	@ Fla	W 4-1

Injuries
Date	Player	Status
11/21/2009	T. Poti	Upper-body injury (day-to-day)
11/18/2009	S. Morrisonn	Upper-body injury (day-to-day)
11/18/2009	Q. Laing	Broken jaw (IR)
11/17/2009	J. Theodore	Personal reasons (day-to-day)
11/17/2009	A. Semin	Right wrist (IR)

Transactions
Date	Player	Transactions
11/24/2009	A. Gordon	Sent to minors Hershey-AHL
11/24/2009	J. Carlson	Sent to minors Hershey-AHL
11/21/2009	A. Gordon	Called up from minors from Hershey-AHL
11/21/2009	M. Neuvirth	Sent to minors Hershey-AHL
11/19/2009	J. Carlson	Called up from minors from Hershey-AHL
11/17/2009	M. Neuvirth	Called up from minors from Hershey-AHL
11/17/2009	J. Beagle	Called up from minors from Hershey-AHL
11/4/2009	M. Nylander	Called up from minors from Grand Rapids-AHL conditioning stint
11/3/2009	M. Perreault	Called up from minors from Hershey-AHL
11/3/2009	K. Aucoin	Sent to minors Hershey-AHL

	Washington Capitals (14-5-6)