Kyiv rallies behind Mayor Vitali Klitschko, ex-world heavyweight champion

Abigail Adcox

February 25, 01:50 PM February 25, 02:34 PM

The mayor of Ukraine's capital of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, and his brother, a champion boxer, have been photographed in military uniform after pledging they would fight to protect the city.

A photo of Klitschko, himself a Hall of Fame boxer, in Ukrainian uniform circulated social media on Friday, a day after he told ITV's Good Morning Britain he "had no other choice but take up arms" to defend Kyiv.

"I don't have another choice," Klitschko said. "I have to do that. I will be fighting."

MAYOR OF KYIV AND FORMER WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP VITALI KLITSCHKO SAYS HE WILL FIGHT TO PROTECT CAPITAL

Asked whether Ukraine could fend off Russia, Klitschko said, "I believe in Ukraine."

Klitschko, 50, has been mayor of the city since 2014 and head of the Kyiv City State Administration.

His brother, Wladimir Klitschko, also a Hall of Fame heavyweight champion, enlisted in Ukraine's army reserve earlier this month and will also join the fight, according to ESPN.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Ukraine has enacted martial law following Russia's invasion early Thursday morning, barring men aged 18 to 60 years old from leaving the country, with some exceptions.

Ukraine claimed nearly 3,000 Russians were killed on the first day of fighting. The country also says it destroyed nearly 600 tanks and armored vehicles and over 17 warplanes and helicopters.

Washington Capitals player already planning to skip White House visit

Katie Leach

June 06, 08:46 PM June 07, 11:06 AM

Washington Capitals winger Devante Smith-Pelly is planning to sit out the traditional White House visit if his team wins the Stanley Cup.

The Canadian NHL star said, while he’s not “too into politics,” he already made up his mind and won’t be visiting President Trump if his team wins the Stanley Cup, according to the National Post.

“The things that he spews are straight-up racist and sexist,” Smith-Pelly said. “Some of the things he’s said are pretty gross. I’m not too into politics, so I don’t know all his other views, but his rhetoric I definitely don’t agree with.”

The Capitals currently hold a 3-1 lead over the Las Vegas Golden Knights and could take home the Stanley Cup if they win Game 5 on Thursday.

Championship teams traditionally celebrate a victory by visiting with the president at the White House. However, athletes have been recently opting out of the visit to protest Trump’s political views.

[Related: Trevor Noah jokes: Even the Cleveland Browns don't want to meet Trump]

Earlier this week, the White House even went so far as to cancel the Philadelphia Eagles' visit after their Super Bowl victory, opting to instead host a "Celebration of America" event after they learned a significant amount of players were choosing to skip the event.

Eric Cantor was defeated for breaking one old rule and two newer ones

Michael Barone

June 12, 05:00 PM June 12, 03:18 PM

It’s not often that something almost universally unexpected happens in American politics. Frequent public opinion polls and a variety of political media usually give political junkies a good idea of what to expect next.

But not Tuesday, when House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was defeated in the Republican primary in the 7th congressional district of Virginia by Randolph-Macon College professor Dave Brat.

Cantor raised more than $5 million in campaign funds, Brat just over $200,000. But much of Cantor’s money was slated for House Republican colleagues, and Brat got vocal support — worth many times the amount he raised in a Republican primary — from talk show hosts Laura Ingraham and Mark Levin and columnist Ann Coulter.

It's tempting to classify this as a victory for the Tea Party movement over the Republican establishment. Cantor entered the race as the No. 2 member of the House Republican leadership, and Brat pursued some Tea Party themes (though without support from major Tea Party organizations), decrying the vast expansion of government not only under President Obama but also in the George W. Bush years.

But those are not the main lessons of this astonishing upset. One of those lessons is very old, an eternal maxim of politics. Another is familiar, a variation on a theme heard before. The third is relatively new, and perhaps points to a winning campaign theme for Republicans — or their opponents.

The old lesson is: Show up. Voters like to see their elected representatives, even when they have ascended the ranks of committee and leadership positions in Washington.

But Cantor didn't do that much, and it was a problem for him June 10, when he got 44 percent of the vote in Virginia 7. Similarly for longtime Senate Appropriations Committee member Thad Cochran on June 3 in Mississippi, when he ran narrowly behind state Sen. Chris McDaniel (there's a runoff June 24).

Cantor had been flying around the country raising money and campaigning for Republicans. Cochran, in his 36th year in the Senate and with no serious challenge in 30 years, had been spending a lot more time in committee rooms than on the stump.

Cantor should have known he was in trouble when he was booed at the Republican convention in Henrico County, one of three suburban Richmond counties that cast 71 percent of the primary votes in 7th district. David Brat carried all three, with 53 percent in Henrico, 55 percent in Chesterfield and 68 percent in Hanover.

The second lesson of Cantor's defeat is that immigration can still be a cutting issue, depending on the circumstances. Brat zeroed in on Cantor's recent support of measures for legalization of those brought over illegally when they were children.

This has been the most popular of the versions of legalization or amnesty, since the beneficiaries seemed sympathetic and not guilty of knowingly violating the law (hey, they were just little kids).

However, in recent months there has been a flood — highly visible in television stories — of teenagers from Central America illegally crossing the border. They know they’re violating the law, and many say they expect amnesty. They’re a different and less attractive bunch of potential beneficiaries.

Many polls show majorities, even of Republicans, favoring some form of legalization. Support may have increased since net migration from Mexico fell to zero in 2007-12.

But the apparent threat of a wave of amnesty-motivated, low-skill workers coming into a nation with lingering long-term unemployment changes the political balance away from legalization. Cantor’s defeat puts the kibosh on any legalization bills this year and probably indefinitely, if Republicans hold the House.

The third lesson of Cantor’s defeat is that campaigning against “the entire crony corporate lobby” wins votes, and maybe not just in Republican primaries.

Cantor, like his predecessor Tom DeLay, has raised lots of money from K Street lobbyists. He infuriated some conservatives when he blocked a floor vote on flood insurance (which subsidizes affluent Florida and other coastal dwellers) and he has pushed for reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank (which aids Boeing and Caterpillar).

There's a strong case, made persistently by my Washington Examiner colleague Timothy P. Carney, that crony capitalism violates the principles of both free-market conservatives and redistributionist liberals, as well as the principles of democratic fairness.

David Brat’s victory shows the strength of the case against crony capitalism — and gives Republicans an early lead on a theme which could be profitably raised by either party.

Fool's errand or heroic stand? GOP on Ted Cruz, Mike Lee

Donna Cassata

October 16, 07:17 PM October 16, 07:30 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fool's errand or heroic stand?

The bipartisan compromise on Wednesday to avoid a financial default and end a 16-day partial government shutdown cast a spotlight on Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah, who had precipitated the crises with their demand that President Barack Obama gut his 3-year-old health care law.

Other Republicans who repeatedly had warned the two about their quixotic move took little pleasure in saying "I-told-you-so." After they failed to block the biggest expansion of the health care law, the shutdown and near default left the GOP reeling.

"He's the one who got us into this. He had no strategy. And it caused us to waste 16 days and get ourselves killed in the polls," Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said of Cruz. "All for a guy who was fraudulent from the start."

With a heavy dose of gallows humor, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Republicans' poll "numbers have gone down, Obamacare's somehow mysteriously have gone up. And other than that, this has been great."

Cruz, a freshman who engaged in a 21-hour talkathon and egged on House Republicans for the fight, was unapologetic and critical of his GOP Senate colleagues.

"Imagine a different world," Cruz said in a Senate speech. "If all 46 Senate Republicans had stood together and said, we are united against the train wreck that is Obamacare."

In fact, all Senate Republicans oppose the law; what they had challenged was the two senators' tactics.

Lee offered no regrets, vowing to continue the fight to repeal the health care law. "This is not over," he said in a Senate speech.

Their defiance has been wildly cheered by outside conservative groups that have made money on the months-long dispute and the far right flank that hails Cruz and Lee for what they call a principled, courageous stand.

Cruz, a potential presidential candidate in 2016, has seized the headlines and collected nearly $800,000 for his political action committee in the past three months.

"I think Ted Cruz and Mike Lee did exactly the job that those of us who helped them get elected" wanted them to do, said Drew Ryun of the Madison Project, one of the first conservative organizations to back Cruz last year in his long-shot Senate bid.

Among tea party Republicans, Cruz's popularity has climbed, from a 47 percent favorability rating in July to 74 percent, according to a Pew Research Center poll released Wednesday. Non-tea party Republicans see him in a less favorable light, with his unfavorable numbers up to 31 percent.

To Senate Republicans, Cruz and Lee are near pariahs, publicly slammed for a tactic that has taken a heavy toll on the GOP's standing and privately criticized for helping outside groups targeting Republican incumbents before next year's congressional elections.

The latest Washington Post-ABC News poll showed three-quarters of Americans disapproving of the way congressional Republicans were handling the budget.

"What did I say three weeks ago, what did I say a month ago, it was a fool's errand," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., waving a copy of the latest poll for reporters clustered in the Senate basement earlier this week. "I knew that it was going to be a disaster and it is a disaster."

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a fierce opponent of the health care law, called the effort to unravel the law a "fantasy."

Compromise has never been part of the vocabulary for Lee, who was elected in 2010, and Cruz, a member of the Senate for some 10 months. The two have been relegated to the sidelines during the Senate negotiations. Neither was part of a bipartisan group that jump-started talks. The two even skipped Tuesday's weekly closed-door Republican luncheon.

Further riling the GOP is the reality that shutdown and the default threat have overshadowed the problem-plagued rollout of the health care markets on Oct. 1 despite Republican efforts to highlight the programs' woes.

In private, Republicans have been dismissive and confrontational with Cruz, according to lawmakers and congressional aides.

At one meeting, Cruz presented his own poll numbers and argued that Republicans weren't suffering despite the overwhelming evidence suggesting they were, prompting eye-rolling from his colleagues.

At a subsequent meeting, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., asked whether Cruz would disavow efforts by the Senate Conservatives Fund, a group founded by former South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint that has been running ads in states with GOP incumbents, challenging them to support the "defund Obamacare" quest.

McConnell, who faces similar ads in his state as he seeks a sixth term next year, joined with Ayotte in questioning Cruz, who was noncommittal.

More recently, the Texas senator insisted that Senate Republicans could force a vote on a House-passed bill to ease the pain of the shutdown for military veterans, seemingly unaware of Senate rules. He didn't give a convincing explanation how that could be done, considering that the Republican Senate minority has no power to set the agenda. Cruz appeared to be resting his hopes on a strategic stumble by Reid, a 26-year Senate veteran.

Yet for all the internal back-biting, Cruz stands as the Teflon tea partyer, winning over conservatives.

At the Values Voter Summit this past weekend, an annual gathering of social conservatives and evangelicals, participants echoed Cruz and Lee's determination not to back down.

Lee brought activists to their feet when he said he was still working with Cruz to strip money from the law.

"We make no apologies. We stand with you," Lee said, drawing loud applause.

In imploring conservatives to remain vigilant, Cruz quoted the 1995 film "The Usual Suspects," and Keyser Soze's assessment that the "the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world he didn't exist." Cruz' variation: "the greatest trick the left has ever played is to convince conservatives we cannot win."

Cruz won the organization's straw poll on Saturday with 42 percent, well ahead of former presidential candidate Rick Santorum and Dr. Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon.

Dennis Bussey of Richmond, Va., said many conservatives are searching for a new standard-bearer and he was impressed by Cruz's reception.

"We're looking for someone — maybe not a hero but maybe we do need a hero," he said.

___

Associated Press writers Ken Thomas, Andrew Taylor and Bradley Klapper contributed to this report.

Capitals defenseman Jeff Schultz wants to be traded

Brian McNally

May 30, 12:00 AM May 30, 10:25 PM

Defenseman requests a fresh start elsewhere

Capitals defenseman Jeff Schultz has requested a trade, according to his agent, Jarrett Bousquet.

Frustrated by a lack of playing time for the second year in a row and limited communication from two separate Washington coaching staffs -- former coach Dale Hunter and current coach Adam Oates -- Schultz wants a fresh start elsewhere.

The trade request was initially made in mid-March, according to Bousquet. Schultz was hoping to be moved by the April 3 trade deadline, but that didn't happen.

"Jeff would love to be there. He loves his teammates and the Capitals have been good to him over the years when they drafted him," Bousquet said. "It's just that now it's to the point where playing in the National Hockey League takes precedence over not playing for [the Caps]. We feel for Jeff, if he's not going to be utilized in Washington, that there are other teams that can utilize his talents elsewhere."

Schultz, 27, was drafted by Washington in 2004 and has spent his entire career with the organization. But he hasn't figured much in the team's plans the past two seasons. Schultz was routinely a healthy scratch during this past lockout-shortened season. He appeared in just 26 of 48 games and none after March 31 or during the Stanley Cup playoffs. The year before, Schultz appeared in 54 games out of 82 -- though he did play in 10 of the Caps' 14 playoff games in 2011-12.

"I think Jeff's always made it known if he's gonna be healthy scratched that he would like to play in the league," Bousquet said. "He does have a good relationship with [McPhee] and has spoken with him, and George has told him he wants to do what's best for him. But saying and doing are two different things."

Schultz counts $2.75 million against the salary cap for next year, a lot for a player who is a consistent healthy scratch. It doesn't help that the NHL salary cap is dropping to $64.3 million next season. Washington also has two pending unrestricted free agents in forwards Mike Ribeiro and Matt Hendricks and two restricted free agents due raises.

bmcnally@washingtonexaminer.com

Capitals search for answers

Brian McNally

May 21, 12:00 AM May 22, 03:25 PM

Caps have yet to re-sign Ribeiro and Hendricks

Nine days after the Capitals saw their season come to an end yet again in a painful Game 7 Stanley Cup playoff loss, the search for answers has begun anew.

A season that started with such uncertainty thanks to a looming NHL lockout looked quickly lost once play actually began in January. And while Washington shook off that ominous 2-8-1 start to win the Southeast Division and again reach the postseason, that success was lost amidst another blown playoff series. Up 2-0 on the New York Rangers, the Caps couldn't finish the job in the first round.

And so here they are again wondering how to push this group to the next level. There aren't many obvious offseason decisions for general manager George McPhee and his staff to make in the coming months. Washington decided to cut ties with free agents Tom Poti and Wojtek Wolski. The only other players not under contract as of July 5 are center Mike Ribeiro and winger Matt Hendricks. The team does have to sign defenseman Karl Alzner and forward Marcus Johansson, but both players have limited leverage as restricted free agents.

That means if McPhee chooses he can bring back the majority of the current roster. But this group, led by star winger Alex Ovechkin, has yet to make it past the second round of the playoffs. It isn't an old team. There are 19 players under contract for next year who finished the season with the Caps. Four of the forwards and one defenseman are 30 or older next year. The other 15 players will be 28 or younger in 2013-14.

"We still have great young hockey players entering the prime of their career," forward Brooks Laich said. "The window hasn't closed. We aren't one year away from this being our last shot at it."

That's hard to see sometimes. Washington has won three series since the current rebuilding process first yielded a postseason berth in 2007-08. It has made the playoffs six years in a row, but four different times lost in a Game 7 with three of those coming at home.

And there are questions about next year's roster. Does the team have the money or the will to sign Ribeiro? He was acquired last June in a draft-day trade to fill the long-vacant hole at second-line center. Ribeiro finished with 13 goals and 36 assists in 48 games. He had just one goal and one assist in the playoff series with New York, but that goal came in overtime to win Game 5.

Ribeiro says term is most important to him. He is coming off a five-year, $25 million contract. Is Washington willing to give him four or five years given he turns 34 next February? That hasn't been McPhee's preference in the past. But maybe at a reduced salary the team gives in. The NHL salary cap is $64.3 million next year. Even before raises to Alzner and Johansson, there is only $5.66 million left after accounting for the current 19 players.

There are ways to create space, of course. The Caps could trade a player for non-roster assets like draft picks that don't cost money. Or they could use a compliance buyout on a player. That right, granted by the new collective bargaining agreement, does cost ownership money because it pays the remainder of the salary. But it also wipes that salary off the official books to clear room.

"We haven't really discussed [buyouts]," McPhee said. "We haven't had to do much of that in the past, very little actually. Owners like that."

5 PLAYERS TO WATCH

Mike Ribeiro

A draft-day trade with Dallas finally solved Washington's second-line center issue, but Ribeiro was under contract for just one last season. He will be an unrestricted free agent on July 5. But at age 34 in February does he get a long-term contract?

Matt Hendricks

Established himself with the Caps in 2010 after a long journey through the minors, but at age 32 the fourth-line left wing is ready to hit unrestricted free agency for the first time. A valuable penalty killer and shootout specialist.

Karl Alzner

With little leverage on his second contract, Alzner chose less money and just two years. Now a restricted free agent once again, he should see a big salary bump. But can the team lock up its 25-year-old defenseman long term?

Marcus Johansson

Washington's first-round pick in 2009 will still be just 23 next year. Struggled to shake off concussion symptoms early in season but had five goals and 16 assists in his next 25 games after returning from injured reserve. A restricted free agent due a nice raise.

Tom Wilson

Promising 19-year-old has the frame at 6-foot-4, 205-pounds to compete in the NHL next season. But he is ineligible to play for AHL Hershey. Is it better to have him in the NHL or give him another development year in junior?

bmcnally@washingtonexaminer.com

Another year and still no answers for Capitals

Brian McNally

May 15, 12:00 AM May 15, 05:20 PM

Players can't explain latest loss in playoffs

Some came to the podium one at a time, others stood off to the side attempting to answer the question that still puzzles them: Why can't the Capitals win in the Stanley Cup playoffs?

For the sixth time in as many seasons Washington failed to advance past the second round. For the third time during that stretch, they fell in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals -- this time in seven games to the New York Rangers on Monday night after an embarrassing 5-0 loss at Verizon Center.

And so the Caps said goodbye to another season Wednesday at their annual breakdown day. Equipment was packed, exit meetings with management conducted and goodbyes said. Some players will stick around for a few weeks getting treatment for injuries or waiting for their children's school year to end. Others, like star winger Alex Ovechkin, are already gone. He is in Finland playing in the World Championships for Russia. But no matter where they end up scattered across the world this summer, the players will wonder once more what went wrong and search for an adequate answer.

"You have to take the emotion out of it and try to be analytical," Washington general manager George McPhee said. "It's hard, because you know going into a Game 7 this could be it. But you're really hoping you're playing the next day. When it's over, there's quite a vacuum there. It ends and it crushes all of us."

Added defenseman Mike Green, "If you're asking me if there's one specific thing, I don't know. Does anybody know? Do you know? Bounces are one of them, and there are several things, but it's just unfortunate the position that we're in."

There were injuries, of course. Martin Erat said he dislocated his left elbow in Game 4 against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Brooks Laich had minor groin surgery in April. He appeared in just nine games this season after being injured in Switzerland while playing during the NHL lockout. McPhee said both players were set to return during the second round if they had made it.

Caps officials and players remain steamed about the refereeing in the playoff series with New York. The Rangers finished the series with 28 power plays to Washington's 16, including none in a pivotal Game 6 defeat. After Monday's season-ending loss, Ovechkin insinuated to Russian reporters that the NHL wanted the series to continue through to a Game 7.

"I don't think there's a league conspiracy, but it sure didn't feel right," McPhee said. "And Alex wasn't wrong [about the poor officiating]."

But in the end, the Caps were still ahead 2-0 and 3-2 in the series with two chances to advance and failed to do so. They took too many retaliatory penalties in Game 6. It all added up to another bitter loss. And while McPhee insisted he likes his roster as constructed, there will be some changes this summer.

Forwards Mike Ribeiro and Matt Hendricks are unrestricted free agents and the team needs to re-sign restricted free agent defenseman Karl Alzner and forward Marcus Johansson. But no matter who returns, at least one thing must change if Washington makes it back to the playoffs in 2013-14.

"We've just got to find a way to close out series, I think," forward Eric Fehr said. "That's been something we've struggled with throughout the last couple years is we've always gone to seven games and we need to find a way to keep it from going seven and find a way to win them. I'm not sure what we get out of this here, but we just need to find a way to do that."

bmcnally@washingtonexaminer.com

Playoff loss is a bitter pill for Ovechkin

Brian McNally

May 14, 12:00 AM May 14, 08:55 PM

Star shows frustration of another playoff loss

Another season had come to an end for Alex Ovechkin, and once more he had a flight to the World Championships in Finland.

The frustration was palpable after a 5-0 loss to the New York Rangers in Game 7 of an Eastern Conference first-round series on Monday. That setback -- after once leading the series 2-0 -- takes its place alongside all the other Stanley Cup playoff disappointments for Washington.

And so on Tuesday afternoon, Ovechkin met with reporters at Kettler Iceplex one final time before heading to Helsinki to play for Russia in the ongoing World Championships tournament. It was the last place he expected to be just three days earlier when the Caps led New York 3-2 in the series and had two chances to advance to the second round. Instead, they were held without a goal over both games and another summer of questions looms. Can this organization ever find a way to advance beyond the second round and push for a Stanley Cup?

"Every year after we lose in playoffs, I have that kind of question. What lesson? What lesson?" Ovechkin told reporters at Kettler. "The lesson is keep trying and keep doing what you have to do and do your best. I think we have too much lessons, this group of guys. Bad lessons. I hope next year is going to be much, much better."

Ovechkin was held without a point for the final five games of the series by a Rangers team that played exceptionally well defensively and relied on its star goalie Henrik Lundqvist when things did break down and Washington created chances. Ovechkin had a goal in Game 1 and an assist in Game 2.

Other than that, the normally-reliable postseason player stayed quiet. Ovechkin has played 58 playoff games in his career and even after this disappointing series, he still averages over a point per game in the playoffs, with 61 total. The Hart Trophy finalist led the NHL in goals scored during the regular season with 32 in 48 games. He also eventually adjusted to playing right wing for the first time in his life at the request of new coach Adam Oates.

It didn't go smoothly at first and Ovechkin quickly asked to be switched back to the left. But after four games playing with Jay Beagle and Joey Crabb -- two role players -- he quickly realized what Oates needed from him and accepted it.

Ovechkin said he could take satisfaction in that. And he was also proud of his team for shaking off an awful 2-8-1 start to rally and win the Southeast Division and make the playoffs as a No. 3 seed. But elite players aren't judged by such things. The final result colored Ovechkin and his team's season.

"Winning give you everything," Ovechkin said. "Nobody remembers losers. Everybody remembers only winners. Right now again, we're in that kind of position when we're bad. But that's why you're growing up, that's why you don't step in one spot. You have to move. I think we're gonna do lots of work in this summer and I hope this group of guys is gonna stay together a long time."

bmcnally@washingtonexaminer.com

Another taste of heartbreak for Capitals in Game 7 loss to Rangers

Brian McNally

May 13, 12:00 AM May 13, 11:25 PM

Capitals get crushed in decisive Game 7

The heartbreak appears every spring as if on cue.

By the middle of the second period of Monday's decisive Eastern Conference first-round Game 7 between the Capitals and New York Rangers, it was apparent the game would take its place on the long list of devastating losses in the organization's 38-year history.

Arron Asham gave the Rangers the lead in the first period and Taylor Pyatt and Michael Del Zotto added tallies in the second period to stun the sellout crowd at Verizon Center. New York strangled Washington the rest of the way en route to an 5-0 victory.

It was another crushing Game 7 loss at home for the Caps, who are now 2-5 all-time in those situations. They once led this best-of-seven series 2-0. Instead, New York became the first team to win a road game in the series. The home team had been 6-0. The Rangers advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they will face the Boston Bruins.

New York struck first on a wild sequence in the first period. Caps defenseman Mike Green wiped out on a rush up ice just as he neared goalie Henrik Lundqvist's crease and tapped the puck back into the slot. Rookie forward Tom Wilson was there but whiffed on the puck.

That led to a rush the other way for the Rangers. Chris Kreider dropped a pass to Asham. With Caps defenseman Jack Hillen serving as a screen, Asham beat goalie Braden Holtby over the catching glove from the right faceoff circle to put his team ahead 1-0.

It wasn't as if the Caps went without chances in an oddly up-and-down first period. They fired 13 shots on goal on Lundqvist but couldn't find a way to push one home. His best early work may have been a skate save on defenseman John Carlson just 2:49 into the contest.

Star winger Alex Ovechkin was engaged from the start. He was credited with seven hits in the first period alone and at least three of them were crunching blows on New York defensemen John Moore, Steve Eminger, a former Washington teammate, and Ryan McDonagh -- his nemesis the past two playoff series.

The Caps, who complained bitterly about a penalty disparity in a 1-0 Game 6 loss in New York on Sunday, drew the first call of the game when Asham was busted for roughing forward Matt Hendricks. They couldn't score in the 1:18 left to them in the first period and that penalty carried over into the second for 42 seconds before the Rangers killed it off.

New York then took control of the game at 3:24 of the second period. Derek Dorsett, who so incensed the Caps with his attempted slew foot of Green in Game 6, drilled a shot off the crossbar and on the ensuing scramble Dorsett's rebound tip on goal caromed directly to Pyatt, who slammed the puck into the empty net. Just 2:10 later, the Rangers put the game away. Del Zotto's shot from the left wing clicked off Troy Brouwer's skate and through Holtby's pads to make it 3-0 and completely silence the crowd. Just 13 seconds into the third period, any hopes of a rally were extinguished when a John Erskine turnover led to a Ryan Callahan goal.

Meanwhile, Lundqvist was again on his game. Just 24 hours after a 1-0 shutout in Game 6, he finished with 35 saves. Washington had 26 shots after two periods alone. Holtby matched Lundqvist for most of this series. He had a 1-0 overtime shutout of his own in Game 2 on May 4 at Verizon Center. But he allowed 5 goals on 27 shots.

bmcnally@washingtonexaminer.com

Referees play no role in Capitals' Game 7 breakdown

John Keim

May 13, 12:00 AM May 13, 11:25 PM

It wasn't about power plays. It wasn't about missed calls. In the end, it was all about blown chances and missed opportunities.

Besides, the Capitals didn't have to spend time killing power plays Monday night in their 5-0 Game 7 first-round loss to the New York Rangers. Rather, they spent more time killing their chances to advance further.

After endless discussion about the discrepancy in penalties between the Rangers and the Caps, the seventh game was largely penalty-free. And the one team that received a power play in the first two periods, when the game was within reach, was Washington.

Before the Caps received their first of two power plays, any perceived close call that wasn't called a penalty was greeted with loud boos by the 18,000-plus referees in the stands wearing red. New York's Ryan Callahan drove into Jason Chimera near the net after a shot by John Carlson. No call. But with 1:18 left in the first period, New York's Arron Asham checked Matt Hendricks into the boards, with Hendricks' face hitting the glass.

Alas, the Caps managed just one shot from the wing by Mike Ribeiro.

Still, the lack of penalties was quite a change from the first six games and the previous four in particular. The Rangers held a 19-7 edge in power plays in Games 3-6 and 26-14 for the series.

But Game 7s typically come down to performances by the players, not the referees. And the Rangers performed better. No sequence was more damaging than one with about 14 minutes elapsed in the first period. Rookie Tom Wilson, crashing the net, had the puck bounce over his stick.

The missed opportunity led to a Rangers breakaway -- and a goal by Asham. What could have been a 1-0 Capitals lead turned into a deficit, one that proved too large to overcome.

It was a goalie in Braden Holtby not having his best game. It was Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist being, well, Henrik Lundqvist. It was Alex Ovechkin, who had some crushing checks, still not finding the net -- or helping anyone else find it, for that matter. It was Marcus Johansson failing to knock in a rebound late in the first period. The Rangers had no such problems.

Perhaps no goal summed up the night more than Callahan's score to open the third period. The Caps faced long odds anyway trying to overcome a 3-0 deficit. But John Erskine's sloppy pass at the blue line was intercepted by Callahan, who drove in on Holtby for an easy goal.

Later in the period, the Caps were whistled for their first penalty. And they earned another power play. By then nobody was discussing the referees or their calls. Turns out Monday was about everything but penalties.

jkeim@washingtonexaminer.com