For weeks I’ve been watching Washington Capitals rookie defenseman Dimitri Orlov come so close to scoring so many times. For some reason, it just felt like when he finally put on in, the emotion that would come out would be something to see. With his first NHL goal last night against the Carolina Hurricanes, he did not disappoint, as described by Elisabeth Meinecke at On Frozen Blog. These things make for my favorite photos.

Orlov’s goal turned out to be the game winner for the Capitals after an apparent goal by Brooks Laich in the second period was disallowed. I kind of liked the photos from that goal, too, despite being shooting through the netting…and the lack of focus that often comes from shooting through it. The other photographic high point for me was absolutely nailing Alex Ovechkin’s check nailing Tuomo Ruutu. Expect for the netting, that is. And the support cables holding the netting in place. Look at the photos and you’ll see what I mean.

So what else happened in the game? Read some good stuff from Ed Frankovic, Michael Hoffman, Kings of Leonsis, and Russian Machine to find out. They’re all much better at that recap with words stuff than I am. Looks at my photos below or on flickr. Thanks for stopping by!