The obvious story surrounding the Caps in Wednesday's game with the Devils was how the loss of superstar Alex Ovechkin would affect the Southeast Division leaders.

But the bigger story was something that keeps crippling the Caps this season -- silly penalties at stupid times. They took four penalties in the third period to help the Devils pull out a 3-2 victory.

They'll try to avoid such mistakes in this weekend's home-and-home series against the Panthers, but this looks like a problem that could take awhile to remedy.

Taking penalties in the third period of a tie/close game is just not a smart thing. Alexander Semin, who has become a frequent offender, got two, and the Devils got two power-play goals that changed the game.

Coach Bruce Boudreau was furious on the bench and after the game and made no attempt to mask that anger. It's the sign of an undisciplined team, something that Boudreau doesn't like.

DEVILS 3, CAPS 2: The Caps got a pretty good game out of goalie Semyon Varlamov. He made 29 saves and kept the Caps in it until giving up two late power-play goals that made the difference. Varlamov continues to play better as the season goes on.

Copyright (C) 2009 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.