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BOX SCORE
WASHINGTON (AP) -- It was a one-of-a-kind game for Sergei Gonchar
and an extraordinary night for the Washington Capitals.
|  | | Washington's Chris Simon, left, and Peter Bondra, right, congratulate Sergei Gonchar after he scored the first of his three goals Tuesday night. |
Gonchar recorded his first career hat trick and the Capitals
staged their most prolific offensive performance of the season
Tuesday night in a 6-1 rout of the Montreal Canadiens.
Gonchar, who had three goals in his first 31 games this season,
doubled that in the opening 31 minutes. It was only the second time
in franchise history that a Capitals defenseman scored three goals;
Kevin Hatcher did it in 1993 against the New York Rangers.
"I was excited," said Gonchar, a native of Russia. "My mom was here and she was excited, too. Our (Russian Orthodox) Christmas is coming, so it's a nice present for me."
Led by Gonchar, the Capitals held a 5-1 lead after two periods
and, for a welcome change, virtually coasted through the final 20
minutes. Washington has played seven ties and 15 one-goal games this season.
"We've played so many tight games. You feel so much pressure
all the time that it's fun to have a game like this where you can
relax a little bit," Capitals coach Ron Wilson said.
Gonchar, now in his sixth NHL season, had gone 322 games without
a hat trick. He also had an assist on a third-period goal that gave
the Capitals six in a game for the first time this season.
Olaf Kolzig had 34 saves for Washington, 0-3-2 at home against
the Canadiens since April 1997 before the blowout. Kolzig's
counterpart, Jeff Hackett, faced 42 shots.
"I really felt bad for that guy," Kolzig said. "It seemed
like his guys kind of abandoned him a little bit."
Sergei Zholtok scored the lone goal for the Canadiens, winless
in five games (0-2-3).
"Tonight was brutal. We just didn't compete hard enough,"
Hackett said. "We seemed to be a step behind them all night."
Blanked at home by Montreal goalie Jose Theodore three weeks
earlier, the Capitals scored on their third and fourth shots
against Hackett. After Zholtok got a power-play goal at 2:11,
Gonchar beat the screened Hackett from the left circle at 6:18 with
Washington on the power play.
Jeff Toms then put the Capitals ahead for good at 7:59 with his
first goal of the season.
"I thought we played a good first period, even though they were
ahead," Montreal coach Alain Vigneault said. "We were brain dead
after that. It's inexcusable what happened."
Gonchar made it 3-1 at 2:10 of the second period, beating
Hackett on the left side of the net after taking a centering pass
from Andrei Nikolishin. Chris Simon followed with his ninth goal at
7:35, tapping in a backhand centering pass from Adam Oates.
Gonchar capped his hat trick at 10:14, finishing a Washington
rush to the net by scoring from the left side off a pass from Jan Bulis.
The only bit of bad news for the Capitals came early in the
second period, when leading scorer Peter Bondra felt a twinge in
his left knee and sat out the remainder of the game. Team officials
said Bondra, who had surgery on the knee last month, was held out
as a precautionary measure.
"I don't expect it to be very long. This is minor," Wilson said.
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NHL Scoreboard
Montreal Clubhouse
Washington Clubhouse
RECAPS
Atlanta 5
Buffalo 4
Washington 6
Montreal 1
Ottawa 2
Carolina 1
Phoenix 5
Detroit 2
Boston 7
NY Islanders 3
Los Angeles 2
St. Louis 2
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