Opportunistic Knuble makes Capitals pay

WASHINGTON — Simply, it is the most down-and-dirty way to score a goal. A player anchors himself in front of the net or alongside the crease, seemingly oblivious to the jostling and jabbing he is getting from some defenseman in a bad mood, and he beats the goalie with a deflection or a shot off a rebound.

It's ugly stuff, and few do it as beautifully as Mike Knuble.

The affable right winger yesterday occupied his usual parking space, close enough to Washington goalie Olaf Kolzig to have an intimate conversation, and tucked in two goals that, combined, did not travel more than four feet, to lead the Flyers to a 6-4 win over the Capitals at the Verizon Center.

Knuble's 13th and 14th goals, the second accounting for his 11th on power plays, rubbed out an early 1-0 deficit in the first period and gave the Flyers the energy to hang on against the more rested Caps.

"They came out a rested team and they overwhelmed us a little at the beginning," Knuble said after the Flyers won for the seventh time in nine games. "And at the end of the first, when we had the lead, they might have been a little bit shocked."

Flyers coach John Stevens and Knuble chatted before the game in what sounded like an effort by Stevens to remind the veteran to get back to doing the little things he does so well, such as his work in front of the net.

Knuble said it was no big deal, just a chance to, in his words, straighten his brain out a little bit. Whatever, Knuble responded with two goals to take some of the air out of the hard-charging Caps, who began the game like a team eager to play after being limited to one game since Jan. 5.

"Mike and I had a talk before the game," Stevens said. "He's such a good player with the little things he does. He's heavy on the puck. He moves his feet. When he gets around the net, he knows how to finish. He certainly had a big effort and a huge impact on the game."

Said Knuble, "He told me to get back to winning battles on the boards and play around the net. It was positive."

Just when the Caps took back the momentum in the second period, Jim Dowd jammed in a shorthanded goal to make it 3-1. Less than a minute later, R.J. Umberger raised the lead to 4-1, and Kolzig was pulled for Brent Johnson.