Kings Crush Capitals 6-3

Despite Anson Carter's three assist performance, the Washington Capitals were crushed 6-3 by the Los Angeles Kings on Day 7. The loss is Washington's second straight and drops the team to 2-2 on the young season.

The Capitals came out quickly in the first period and outshot the Kings 11-6 over the 20 minutes. Frantisek Lukes opened the scoring after just 1:26 when he connected on passes from Carter and Andrew Ference. A failed Capitals power play shortly after the goal gave the Kings some momentum, and Nedorost tied the game from Kapanen and Gaborik at 13:29. Washington rallied after the Los Angeles goal to secure a 2-1 lead at the intermission. Artem Chubarov was the scorer from Lukes and Carter at 18:32.

The second period was a story of missed opportunities for the Capitals. The team failed on three power plays, including 1:34 of 5-on-3 time early in the action. Los Angeles made Washington pay with a pair of goals late in the period to turn the tide and take a 3-2 lead. Wiemer scored the first from Nedorost and Rosa at 17:59, and Niinimaa got the second from Desjardins and Zhamnov with just nine seconds left.

Los Angeles kept the pressure up in the third period, and Yzerman made it 4-2 when he scored from Crain and Wiemer at 2:53. Washington rallied during a 4-on-4 situation to pull within one on Michal Rozsival's first goal of the season. Ference and Carter assisted on the goal. Unfortunately the Kings responded with a pair of goals from O'Neill to put the game away. The first came from Bradley and Crain on the power play at 10:32, and the second lit the lamp 3:05 later from Ragnarsson and Cammalleri.

Manny Legace struggled in goal for the Capitals, stopping just 17 shots in the loss. Tommy Salo had four saves in relief. Martin Biron pushed aside 27 shots to earn his first win of the season for Los Angeles.

The Capitals are back on action on Day 8 in Pittsburgh.