Sonstiges » the second straight game due to an ankle inju

WASHINGTON -- All it took was one goal for Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals to get their confidence back, and they didnt let it go.Ovechkin scored his first goal of the season on the power play and assisted on one of T.J. Oshies two goals as the Capitals solved some early season woes and beat the tired Colorado Avalanche 3-0 on Tuesday night. The well-rested Capitals skated circles around Colorado, which was playing the second half of a back-to-back and its third game in four days.A two-game power-play drought and a lack of production from the first line of Ovechkin, Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov were points of contention for the defending Presidents Trophy winners, but those problems went away quickly as the Capitals handed the Avalanche their first loss.I think our first couple games we didnt execute the moment what we have, Ovechkin said. The first goal was, I think, very important for us, mentally. You can see when we have power-play opportunities, we have so many chances to score. We get two and well take it.Washington had the puck for most of the night and shelled goaltender Semyon Varlamov, who came up big by stopping 37 of the 40 shots he faced from his former team. The Avalanche barely tested Capitals backup Philipp Grubauer, who made 18 saves for his first NHL shutout.Much of the play was happening at the opposite end of the rink from Grubauer, as the Capitals continued to draw penalties by being a step ahead of opponents. Their power play entered 0 for 8, unusual for a unit that has perennially been one of the best in the league, but it scored twice on five opportunities to bringing its percentage up to 15.4.We talked about needing a little more execution, a little more finish, coach Barry Trotz said. They were sharper, and they got rewarded. I thought they couldve scored almost every power play we got.How the power-play goals happened was no surprise. Ovechkin beat Varlamov short side from his spot in the faceoff circle 15:44 into the first period, and Oshie scored from the edge of the crease on a pretty give-and-go with Nicklas Backstrom 11:32 into the second.Ovechkin has led the league in goals and power-play goals in each of the past four seasons. He also set up Oshies second goal 13:35 into the third as the first line scored for the first time in Washingtons third game.It was bound to happen eventually, Oshie said. Weve played well together in the past, and we were missing passes just a little bit and playing somewhat slow hockey. Tonight we were all three going and only had one goal as a line when we were out there together, but I think for the most part we had a good, solid game.Defenseman Dmitry Orlov fed Ovechkin on the power play and also made the highlight reel by upending Colorado forward Matt Duchene with an open-ice hip check in the first period. Ovechkin called it a beauty and Oshie said it was one of the best hits he has ever seen.That was a real clean hit -- a shoulder to sort of the midsection, the hip, and he just lifted him, Trotz said. I know Duchy from Team Canada and he can fly. He got caught there and he was up in the air a little bit. It was good to see that he didnt get hurt or anything like that, but thats a classic one.Duchene was not pleased and didnt want to talk about it because he didnt want to say something that would get him in trouble.The Avalanche lost for the first time in the young season under new coach Jared Bednar, who replaced Patrick Roy when the Hall of Fame goaltender resigned abruptly in August. They were noticeably fatigued from an overtime victory Monday in Pittsburgh and needed Varlamov to be sharp to stay in the game.Bednar called the first period that featured a 20-5 Capitals shot advantage unacceptable, but he and Duchene didnt want to use the back-to-back as an excuse.We didnt match their compete and their battle level, Duchene said, crediting Varlamov for a strong performance. We basically just chased the game all night.Game notesThe Capitals honored Braden Holtby with a pregame ceremony for winning the Vezina Trophy as the NHLs top goaltender and for tying the single-season wins record. ... LW Brett Connolly made his Washington debut, replacing rookie Zach Sanford in the lineup. ... F Cody McLeod made his season debut for Colorado as Ben Smith was scratched.UP NEXTAvalanche: Continue their brutal Eastern Conference road trip Thursday at the Tampa Bay Lightning.Capitals: Look to stay unbeaten in regulation when they visit the Florida Panthers on Thursday.---Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SWhyno.Jason Spezza Jersey .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. Chris Tierney Jersey . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. http://www.senatorssale.com/authentic-mark-borowiecki-senators-jersey/ .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. Craig Anderson Senators Jersey .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Mikkel Boedker Jersey . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season.TOLEDO, Ohio -- Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw figured Brianna Turner gave her a huge size edge the Irish could exploit against Toledo.She was right.Turner had 26 points and eight rebounds to lead No. 2 Notre Dame to an 85-68 victory over Toledo on Sunday.The 6-foot-3 junior forward shot 11 for 13 from the field as the Irish outscored Toledo 44-28 in the paint.We thought we had an advantage inside, McGraw said. We didnt think they could guard her, so we really wanted to go in as much as possible.It was great to see her have kind of a breakout game offensively.Marina Mabrey added 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting for the Irish (10-1).Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott scored 23 points to lead the Rockets (8-2), and Kaayla McIntyre added 13 points.Toledo coach Tricia Cullop admitted that Turners length and athleticism gave her team all sorts of difficulty.Turner is one of the best centers in the country, and shes a handful, Cullop said. She got us in some foul trouble early on.In a bid to slow down Turner, Cullop inserted 6-3 Sophie Reecher 3:41 into the game to guard the Notre Dame forward. Reecher had two fouls within 45 seconds and was back on the bench.Notre Dames only loss this season was a 72-61 defeat against No. 1 Connecticut on Dec. 7. The Irish have now won 13 consecutive games on the road, while the Rockets dropped to 4-1 at home this season.QUICK TURNABOUTToledo scored the first five points of the game on Bravo-Harriotts 3-pointer and Mikaela Boyds field goal, but it was all Irish after that. Notre Dame scored the next eight points, taking the lead on Lindsay Allens layup with 6:31 remaining, and never trailed again.Theyre very skilled, very talented and definitely athletic, Bravo-Harriott said.dddddddddddd. You just have to have a lot of grit to play with them because theyve got some of the best players in the nation.When Mabrey hit a jumper with 1:26 left in the opening quarter, the Irish led 17-7 and Toledo never pulled within single digits again.The story of the game was really the first quarter, Cullop said. We let things kind of get away from us. We learned a lot about ourselves in this game. We guarded some pretty incredible players.BIG PICTURENotre Dame: The Irish used their speed and tenacity to beat the Rockets, winning the turnover battle 28-17. To stay even as close as we did with 28 turnovers was pretty incredible, Cullop said. Weve got to take better care of the basketball against great teams. That would have helped us tremendously.Toledo: Both of the Rockets losses this season have come against top-10 opposition, though the first setback was much closer -- 75-73 to then-No. 8 UCLA in the final of the Cancun Challenge on Nov. 25.INJURED IRISHNotre Dame freshman Jackie Young was out of the lineup for the second straight game due to an ankle injury suffered when the Irish lost to Connecticut. Erin Boley, who picked up some of Youngs minutes, scored nine points.UP NEXTNotre Dame: The Irish stay in the area, heading to the Breslin Center Tuesday to meet Michigan State, the third game in a six-game road trip. Notre Dame doesnt play at home again until Jan. 5 against Wake Forest.Toledo: The Rockets, off to their best start since opening 12-1 in 2012-13, host Detroit Mercy on Wednesday. ' ' '