Semin scores winner, Fedorov sets mark for Russians, Ovechkin goalless again

 

VIDEO PLAYLIST

• Capitals Top Stars, 6-5

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Game Information

Arena: American Airlines Center Location: Dallas, Texas

Referees: Marc Joannette, Rob Martell Linesmen: Darren Gibbs, Jay Sharrers

Attendance: 18,532 (100.0% full)

Team Stat Comparison
268	Goals	224
240	Goals Against	251
85	Power Play Goals	54
75	Power Play Goals Allowed	70
7	Shorthanded Goals	2
11	Shorthanded Goals Allowed	4
1041	Penalty Minutes	1144
13	Average Penalty Minutes	14

Scoring Summary
1ST PERIOD			WAS	DAL
10:19		Sean Avery Assists: B.J. Crombeen, Mike Modano	0	1
12:38		Sergei Fedorov (Power Play) Assists: Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom	1	1
16:58		Tomas Fleischmann Assists: Michael Nylander	2	1
19:50		Fabian Brunnstrom (Power Play) Assists: Sean Avery, Stephane Robidas	2	2
2ND PERIOD			WAS	DAL
11:23		Sergei Fedorov Assists: Alexander Semin, Brooks Laich	3	2
15:16		Tomas Fleischmann Assists: Michael Nylander	4	2
15:55		B.J. Crombeen Assists: Trevor Daley, Mike Modano	4	3
3RD PERIOD			WAS	DAL
0:56		Loui Eriksson Assists: Mike Ribeiro, Brenden Morrow	4	4
2:22		Tyler Sloan Assists: Viktor Kozlov, Alex Ovechkin	5	4
19:03		Mike Modano Assists: Brenden Morrow, Loui Eriksson	5	5
OT			WAS	DAL
2:17		Alexander Semin Assists: Boyd Gordon, Mike Green	6	5

DALLAS -- It was a big night for the Russians on the Washington Capitals.

Sergei Fedorov set the NHL goals record for Russian-born players, and countryman Alexander Semin scored at 2:17 of overtime as the Capitals snapped a three-game losing streak with a 6-5 victory over the Dallas Stars on Saturday night.

Fedorov scored twice to give him 475 goals for his career, breaking a tie with Alexander Mogilny (473), who retired in 2006.

"It's just a record," Fedorov said. "I'd rather talk about Alex than the record. I know his career was shortened by injury. I didn't expect to ever get it. He had a great shot and amazing hands. Realistically, if he'd played more he'd have a lot more stats. He was a powerful forward, a scoring machine."

Fedorov also holds the Russian records for assists (678) and points (1,153).

"Records are nice on a personal level, but most important was that we finally won a game," Fedorov said.

Mike Modano's 532nd career goal off a setup by Brenden Morrow pulled Dallas into a 5-all tie with 56.4 seconds left in regulation.

Then, midway through overtime, Semin took a loose puck in the right circle and beat goalie Marty Turco in the upper left corner. Semin was mobbed by teammates who raced onto the ice after his seventh goal of the season.

"We've always been resilient," Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said. "You can see the passion we have by how we reacted when we scored the overtime goal."

Tomas Fleischmann also had a two-goal game and Tyler Sloan added his first career goal for the Capitals.

Dallas rallied from a 4-2 deficit on B.J. Crombeen's redirect with 4:05 left in the second period -- his first career goal -- and Loui Eriksson's rebound at 56 seconds into the third period.

The Caps went back in front 5-4 when Sloan, playing in his third NHL game, scored on a rebound at 2:22 of the final period.

Sean Avery scored his first goal for the Stars and added an assist. Dallas signed Avery to a four-year, $14 million free-agent contract in the offseason, and he was off to a slow start with two assists in his first eight games.

Rookie Fabian Brunnstrom added his fifth goal of the season for the Stars.

Reigning league MVP Alex Ovechkin, a 65-goal scorer for the Caps last season, went without a goal for the sixth straight game.

Avery scored from the left circle off a long rebound midway through the opening period to put the Stars in front. Fedorov tied it at 1 on the power play, firing home a loose puck from close range with 7:22 left in the first period.

Fleischmann struck from the inside edge of the left circle to give Washington a 2-1 lead at with 3 minutes remaining in the first period. Dallas tied it at 2 with 9.6 seconds left in the first when Avery's backhand pass set up Brunnstrom for a power-play goal.

Semin's pass sent Fedorov in alone, and he beat Turco with a backhander to give Washington a 3-2 edge with 8:37 left in the second.

Fleischmann made it 4-2, intercepting Turco's clearing attempt and firing into the upper right corner with just under 4 minutes left in the second.

The Stars were expected to be one of the league's top defensive teams, but they've given up four or more goals in six of nine games.

That's not acceptable to coach Dave Tippett, who said there's lots of blame to go around.

"The goals-against is a joke right now," Tippett said. "There are a lot of guilty parties out there. It's not the way we do things around here, to have to score seven goals to win. Our goaltending hasn't been very good."

Game notes
The Caps were making their first visit to Dallas since Jan. 12, 2006. The teams did not meet last season. ...Dallas is 9-1-2 all-time against Washington at home.