Capitals Too Hip for Senators, 4-0

Andrew Brunette is so hot, he’s scoring goals with his hip.

With a few lucky bounces and some strong goaltending, the Washington Capitals ended 1 1/2 seasons of frustration against Ottawa on Tuesday night, stopping a six-game losing streak against the Senators with a 4-0 victory.

“Hopefully, we got rid of the Ottawa jinx,” said All-Star goalie Olaf Kolzig, who stopped 24 shots for his 20th victory--six more than he had in his entire five-year NHL career before this season. “Fortunately, we got a few lucky bounces, and that’s what we needed to beat this team.”

Brunette scored twice to make it eight goals in eight games since his recall from Portland. The first one fluttered in off his hip, and the second was a gift rebound after a shot went off the post.

“Right now I’m having it bouncing off my stick or off my butt,” Brunette said. “So I’m pretty lucky.”

Brunette had only seven career goals in spot call-ups over two seasons before arriving for his latest NHL stint last month.

“He’s Johnny-on-the-spot,” Washington Coach Ron Wilson said. “He knows where he should be. He’s not a great skater. At times you actually wince from the bench watching him skate, but you know if we have control of the puck around the net, then good things are going to happen. Those are one of those things you can’t teach.”