Written by DCist contributor Eli Resnick

The Capitals are on a “mostly winning streak.” Why? How? What’s a “mostly winning streak?” Who cares! They’re doing good.

But first there’s some bad news: Alexander Semin left the ice late in the third period doubled over with pain. A possible shoulder injury could make it painful for Semin to shoot. We don’t want to see Semin’s shots dribble weakly to the crease, do we? No! We want to see Semin slap it home with laser-like spurts of power and remind the goalie why he wears so much protection. But at the end of last night’s game, Semin wasn’t shooting at all, as he sat limp on the bench between his teammates, bent over and gasping. Poor Semin. There. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that the Capitals, as a team, can play hockey. The addition of journeyman defenseman John Erskine, along with the solid defensive play of everyone but Steve Eminger, has solidified the blueline to at least the consistency of ricotta cheese, with a strong possibility of surpassing flan by the all-star break.

The reunification of last year’s lone defensive bright-spot, the line of Ben Clymer, Matt Bradley and Brian Sutherby, has once again shut down opposing offenses through the innovative tactic of repeatedly knocking them over. The on-the-job-training of Jakub Klepis has stunk, but hasn’t stunk quite enough to eclipse the amazing chemistry between Alexander Ovechkin, Dainius Zubrus and Chris Clark. This unlikely but unstoppable first line combined for three goals and four assists in last night’s win. That’s seven points for three people in a game with a score of only four to one.