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  Sunday, Jan. 16 1:00pm ET
Zednik's goals carry Caps past Sens
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

WASHINGTON (AP) -- When Richard Zednik fares well, so do the Washington Capitals.

Zednik broke out of a recent six-week scoring slump, getting two goals to help the Washington Capitals score a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.

Washington Capitals
Richard Zednik, center, is congratulated by Washington Capitals teammates Sunday after scoring his second goal of the game.
The Capitals now are 3-0-3 in games where Zednik has scored goals. He last scored on Dec. 7 when his two-goal performance helped the Capitals beat the New York Islanders, but he's tried to keep his confidence up.

"We try to get it going every game," Zednik said. "The first time the puck goes through the chains, I think I'm having good luck. I'm going to try and play every game like I'm playing."

Zednik, who had just five points in the last 15 games, now has nine goals and 10 assists in 42 games, and the Capitals need his offensive help because top-scoring threat Peter Bondra has missed most of the last six weeks with knee problems.

Linemate Jan Bulis assisted on both goals, and the pair have worked well together all season long.

"It usually connects together for us," Bulis said. "Whenever he scores, I usually get the assist or whenever I score he gets the assist."

Goalie Olaf Kolzig made 27 saves, and Ottawa spoiled his shutout bid when Igor Kravchuk scored a power-play goal with 58 seconds left.

The win also pushed the Capitals over the .500 mark for just the second time this season. Washington (18-17-7) now is 6-1-2 in its last nine games -- following a stretch when it lost five of seven. Ottawa, meanwhile, was 7-2-1 in its last 10 games.

The only other time Washington made it over .500 was four games into the season, when the Capitals were 2-1-1 after beating Philadelphia. Washington then went 0-5-1 in its next six games and has been fighting to get back to the .500 mark.

"It's a good win," Kolzig said. "It was a great win at home after the emotional game in Jersey (a 3-2 overtime victory Friday). Everyone's building confidence and composure."

Linemate Bulis assisted on both Zednik goals. From the right corner, Bulis slid a nice pass across the goal mouth that Zednik knocked past goalie Patrick Lalime with 3:17 left in the first period for a 1-0 lead.

Zednik then poked in a loose puck following a goal-mouth scramble with 9:51 left in the second period. Bulis and Ulf Dahlen both got assists on the play.

Ottawa finally scored when Kravchuk fired a slap shot past Kolzig in the game's final minute. To help his team's power play at that time, coach Jacques Martin pulled goalie Lalime and gave the Senators a 5-on-3 advantage, which they quickly used to score.

"We did not have enough winning battles," Martin said. "The Caps deserved to win. They played better."

 


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RECAPS
Washington 2
Ottawa 1

NY Rangers 6
Atlanta 3

Detroit 3
Edmonton 3

AUDIO/VIDEO
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 Richard Zednik comes out from behind the net for his second goal.
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