Newcomers Belanger, Corvo help Capitals beat Rangers 2-0 for 13th consecutive home victory

Belanger, Corvo help Capitals beat Rangers 2-0

WASHINGTON — These new guys are fitting in fine with the Washington Capitals.

Eric Belanger scored his first goal for the Capitals, fellow trade-deadline pickup Joe Corvo had an assist, and NHL-leading Washington beat the New York Rangers 2-0 on Saturday night to stretch its club-record home winning streak to 13 games.

With two-time league MVP Alex Ovechkin mired in his longest goal drought of the season — six games — the Capitals are finding scoring elsewhere. Eric Fehr put in his 17th goal off assists from Corvo and Tomas Fleischmann during a 5-on-3 in the first period, and Belanger doubled the lead in the second period.

Jose Theodore made 30 saves for his first shutout in nearly a year. His last was March 17, 2009, against Florida.

Goalie Alex Auld was making his first start for the Rangers, who claimed him off re-entry waivers from the Dallas Stars on Feb. 27.

In a bid to improve their chances of winning the franchise’s first Stanley Cup, the Capitals added four players in four deals Wednesday: center Belanger from Minnesota; defenseman Corvo and right wing Scott Walker from Carolina in separate trades; and defenseman Milan Jurcina from Columbus.

Any questions about whether all the moves might have affected the Capitals’ chemistry seem silly at the moment. Washington has won both of its games since the newcomers arrived, and the three acquisitions who are playing — Jurcina is injured — have all contributed.

Walker scored two goals against Tampa Bay on Thursday, something Belanger jokingly said Saturday “put a lot of pressure” on the others joining the Capitals. So much for that.

Washington won despite mustering two fewer shots. That represented quite a turnaround for the Rangers, who were outshot 55-16 in their previous game, a 5-4 overtime loss to Pittsburgh.

But New York, which entered the day tied with Atlanta and Montreal for the last playoff berth in the Eastern Conference, did not help Auld a whole lot. In the first period, Sean Avery already was off for hooking when Marc Staal grabbed Fleischmann’s stick and was sent to the penalty box, giving Washington a 5-on-3 for 1:45.

With 2 seconds left on the two-man advantage, the Capitals went ahead 1-0 on Fehr’s 17th goal of the season. Corvo brought the puck up and gave it to Fleischmann on the left side. Fleischmann slid a cross-ice pass to Fehr, who was all alone at the right post and knocked the puck past Auld at the 10:56 mark.

In the second period, the Capitals nearly gift-wrapped a goal for the Rangers, when Washington defenseman Shaone Morrisonn accidentally sent the puck right to New York’s Brandon Dubinsky in front of the net — it basically looked like a perfect pass from one teammate to another. But Theodore made a reflex save on Dubinsky’s backhander to keep the Rangers scoreless.

About 13½ minutes into the second, Belanger made it 2-0. As with Fehr’s goal, Belanger was pretty much all alone in front of Auld, although this was during even-strength play. Alexander Semin flicked the puck to Brooks Laich on the left wing, and Laich set up Belanger.

NOTES: Ovechkin’s longest span without a goal since entering the NHL was a nine-game stretch last season. Because of the break for the Olympics, he has gone a month without putting the puck in the net for the Capitals: He had a hat trick in a victory over Pittsburgh on Feb. 7. … New York’s Marian Gaborik returned to the lineup after missing four of the previous five games. … Washington hasn’t lost at home since Dec. 28 against Carolina. … Asked before the game about the decision to start Auld, Rangers coach John Tortorella said: “I don’t profess to know a lot about goaltending. This just made sense.” … The crowd of 18,277 made the game the Capitals’ 46th consecutive home sellout.