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  Friday, Jan. 28 7:00pm ET
Capitals' unbeaten streak hits 10
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Calle Johansson got the lucky bounce he hoped for, and the Washington Capitals gained a dramatic victory.

Johansson scored in the final second of overtime to give the Capitals a 3-2 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Friday night and extend their unbeaten streak to 10 games.

Oleg Kolzig
Phoenix's Jeremy Roenick beats Washington netminder Olaf Kolzig for his 100th goal in a Coyotes uniform.
The stunning finish began when Sergei Gonchar chased down a puck near the left point and fired a shot with about five seconds left in the 5-minute OT session. Phoenix goalie Sean Burke made the save, but the rebound bounced right to Johansson in front and he flipped it in.

"I knew Gonchar would either pass it to me or shoot it," Johansson said. "There was hardly any time left on the clock, so there wasn't any real danger about Phoenix going the other way. I just figured I would stay there and hoped it bounced my way."

There was some question as to whether the goal beat the clock, but the officials called to check the video replay and determined the goal should count. NHL officials confirmed after the game that the puck went into the net with .2 seconds left.

Washington coach Ron Wilson said the Capitals found some better luck than the last time the two teams played. The Capitals played the Coyotes to a 2-2 tie Nov. 30 despite outshooting them, 7-1, in overtime.

"We caught kind of a break there, but remember the game we played them in Phoenix," Wilson said. "We hit the post three times in overtime in a game where we lost a two-goal lead, so maybe we deserved a break."

Gonchar finished with a goal and two assists as the Capitals improved to 9-0-1 since losing to Atlanta on Jan. 6. They've also posted an 11-1-3 record since returning from a late December West Coast swing.

The only streak longer than this one is the club record of 14, which occurred during both the 1982-83 (9-0-5) and 1983-84 (13-0-1) seasons.

This streak also is the longest in the NHL this season, surpassing New Jersey's nine-game unbeaten stretch (7-0-2) earlier this year. The loss ended a four-game Phoenix unbeaten streak.

"Well, we got a point out of it," Phoenix coach Bob Francis said. "Unfortunately, we lost it at the last second, but I think justice was properly served because they were taking it to us."

Burke repeatedly robbed the Capitals on scoring chances, making a number of tough stops and finishing with 33 saves. The Washington defense played well, and goalie Olaf Kolzig made only 19 stops. The Capitals outshot Phoenix, 36-21.

The Capitals took a 1-0 lead when Jeff Halpern deflected Gonchar's slap shot from point past Burke 3:23 into the first period. Phoenix answered later in the period with two goals in less than a minute.

Travis Green knocked in a nice feed at 14:13 from Trevor Letowski, and Jeremy Roenick then gave the Coyotes a 2-1 lead 58 seconds later, taking a break-out pass from Stan Neckar in the neutral zone and beating Washington goalie Olaf Kolzig after coming in alone. The goal was Roenick's 100th with Phoenix.

Burke stopped several Washington scoring chances before Gonchar tied it with 3:40 left in the second period. Ulf Dahlen sent a quick pass across the crease to Gonchar, who fired it into the empty net.

It was Dahlen's 500th NHL point.

Washington then dominated play in the third period, outshooting Phoenix, 12-3, and coming up with numerous scoring chances but the Capitals couldn't score.

 


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RECAPS
Buffalo 1
Ottawa 0

Washington 3
Phoenix 2

Carolina 4
New Jersey 3

Detroit 4
Calgary 1

Edmonton 7
Tampa Bay 3

St. Louis 3
Dallas 1

Vancouver 4
San Jose 1

AUDIO/VIDEO
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 Calle Johansson scores the game-winner for the Capitals.
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