head coach: Ron Wilson

roster: C - Adam Oates, Joe Juneau, Dale Hunter, Jan Bulis, Benoit Gratton. LW- Steve Konowalchuk, Chris Simon, Ken Klee, Todd Krygier. RW - Peter Bondra, Richard Zednik, Craig Berube, Kelly Miller. D - Phil Housley, Calle Johansson, Mark Tinordi, Sylvain Cote, Sergei Gonchar, Joe Reekie, Brendan Witt. G - Olaf Kolzig, Bill Ranford.

injuries: Andrei Nikolishin, lw (torn knee ligaments, 6-10 weeks); Pat Peake, rw (ankle, indefinite - needs surgery); Yogi Svejkovsky, lw (sprained ankle, day-to-day); Michal Pivonka, c (fractured hand, 4-6 weeks); Mike Eagles, lw (fractured wrist, 5 weeks).

transactions: Assigned Ryan Mulhern, lw, Dwayne Hay, lw, and Andrew Brunette, lw, to Portland (AHL). Recalled Benoit Gratton, c, from Portland. Placed Pat Peake, c, and Michal Pivonka, c, on injured reserve. Chris Simon, lw, suspended for three games for a racial epithet directed at Edmonton Oilers forward Mike Grier.

standings:

Eastern Conference - Atlantic Division   
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA     
Philadelphia 22  13   6   3    29   68   51
New Jersey   19  14   5   0    28   60   34
Washington   21  12   7   2    26   60   48
NY Islanders 20   8   8   4    20   56   50
NY Rangers   20   6   7   7    19   51   50
Florida      19   6   9   4    16   42   57
Tampa Bay    20   2  16   2     6   34   72

game results:

11/04 Vancouver      W 2-1
11/05 at Boston      L 2-0
11/08 Edmonton       W 2-1
11/09 at Florida     L 3-2
11/12 at Pittsburgh  W 4-1
11/13 at Buffalo     W 3-2
11/15 at Montreal    W 3-2

team news:

by Jason Sheehan, Washington Correspondent

Simon Under Scrutiny for Racial Slur

Washington Capitals left wing Chris Simon, a Native American from the Ojibwa Tribe, possibly made the biggest mistake of his career when he directed two damaging words to Edmonton Oilers forward Mike Grier, who is an African American.

Simon shouted the two-word racial epithet at Grier after the final horn sounded Nov. 8 at USAirways Arena in Landover, Maryland. At the end of the game, the benches cleared and both sides nearly came to blows. This was all caused by a few hard checks in the game's final minute; not from Simon's harmful epithet. That occurred in the maley.

The conflict reached a fever pitch when Simon demoralized Grier with the racial slur, which was heard by a couple officials. Fortunately, the officials were able to quickly usher both teams off the ice.

Simon was suspended for three games. It was the first time the NHL has ruled on a foul resulting from a racial epithet.

"At the end of the game we came on the ice," said Simon. "The two of us had words to say to each other. At the end, that came out. It shouldn't have happened."

"I think it's disgusting," said Oilers center Doug Weight after the game. "It's ridiculous. It's not part of the game. It has nothing to do with the game of hockey. I'm embarrassed by it. We play hard against each other but that's not what it's supposed to come to."

The suspension could have been longer if Simon had refused to take matters into his own hands by apologizing to Grier for his actions.

Capitals general manager George McPhee accompanied Simon on a trip to Toronto, where he met Grier and apologized. Grier accepted the apology and is ready to move on with the rest of his career.

"Slats (Glen Sather) called me this afternoon (Tuesday) and said that Chris was really struggling with this and he was really upset about what had happened and he wanted to meet," said Grier. "I said sure. It'd be great to get everything out of the way. So we just went up there and talked for about five minutes. It went pretty well."

"He said, `I'm sorry' several times and I believed him," Grier continued. "He had a very sincere look in his eye and his manner about him seemed very honest. It takes a stand-up person to come out here and handle the situation as quickly as he did. I accept his apology."

Like Grier, Simon has had racial epithets directed his way by opposing players. That's what makes this scenario so strange. Simon is proud of his heritage. He wears his hair long and has a tattoo to honor his tribe.

"Its been done to me growing up, and I should have known better," said Simon.

"I'm very saddened and embarrassed by what took place," he continued. "... It's unacceptable. There's no excuse for it.

"Before I saw Mike this was very hard for me. The last two nights before that I didn't sleep. But the most important thing for me was to apologize to him, to the Washington Capitals organization and the people of Washington."

Simon returned to the lineup Nov. 15 in Montreal and collected two assists. The Capitals won 3-2, snapping the Canadians' seven-game winning streak.

Housley Reaches 1,000-Point Milestone

It took 15 years, five teams and 1,084 games to score his 1,000th point. But Capitals defenseman Phil Housley has persevered, and scored the milestone point on a 5-on-3 power play Nov. 8 against Edmonton.

In a game marred by Simon's racial slur, Housley collected his 1,000th point on an assist, tapping a pass to defenseman Calle Johansson, who one-timed a shot through goalie Curtis Joseph's pads.

The Capitals emptied the bench to congratulate Housley. Capitals' ownership will reward Housley for his remarkable feat Nov. 18th when the Capitals return home to play the Colorado Avalanche.

Housley is the fifth defenseman and second American-born player to score 1,000 points. Teammate Adam Oates collected his 1,000th point Oct. 8. The Capitals will likely become the first team in NHL-history to have three players score 1,000 points when center Dale Hunter surpasses the mark. Hunter needs 11-points to join the select group.

Wilson Named Olympic Coach of Team USA

It was bound to happen.

Washington coach Ron Wilson led a group of strangers to an improbable win against Canada in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, a precursor to the Olympics.

Lou Lamoriello, general manager of Team USA, took awhile to name both the players and coaching staff for the Olympics, which will be held in Nagano next February. But when he made his final decision, all Lamoriello had to examine was the way Wilson helped the World Cup team gel into a collective unit capable of beating the best the world has to offer.

"We are pleased to have such a quality group of coaches, led by Ron Wilson, to prepare and lead our American players in Japan," said Lamoriello. "Their collective experience and success in professional and international competition will be important in helping our players perform to the very best of their ability."

Wilson was named coach of the Capitals shortly after he was fired by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Anaheim cited conflicted opinions as the major reason for releasing Wilson. But winning ways tend to attract hockey teams, which is exactly what happened when McPhee, one of Wilson's longtime friends, named him coach in Washington.

Now, he'll be taking a long trip to Japan as he tries to bring gold back to U.S. shores for the first time since the "Miracle on Ice" team won the Gold Metal in 1980 at Lake Placid.

"I'm greatly honored to be selected as the head coach for Team USA," stated Wilson. "I'm certainly following in some great footsteps of past coaches. I fully understand the importance of this position and hope to duplicate the success of our World Cup championship in this year's Olympics."

Oates and Bondra Ignite the Flame

A couple weeks ago, when nine Capitals were injured, Oates approached Wilson and asked for his permission to play on the number one line with right wing Peter Bondra. At the time, Bondra was struggling, which was probably related to the contract dispute that caused the speedy winger to leave training camp.

Bondra, still without a new, renegotiated contract, led the Capitals in goals for the last two seasons. Now with Oates, who helped Brett Hull and Cam Neely achieve career seasons, Bondra is scoring goals in bunches and leading the Capitals to victory.

Bondra (12 goals) and Oates (19 points) currently hold the two best scoring streaks on the club. Bondra has registered three goals in his last three games, while Oates has scored seven points in his last four games (two goals, five assists).

Kolzig Grasps Top Spot in Net

Goaltender Olaf Kolzig has been Wilson's greatest find this season. And surprisingly, the Capitals netminder has been in the organization his entire career.

When Ranford was deemed fit to play, Wilson said he planned to alternative his goaltenders. But the rotating goalies stopped turning in a 360-degree pattern when the Capitals traveled to the blizzards of Buffalo Oct. 13.

That night, Ranford was recovering from the flu, so Wilson decided to reward Kolzig for his stellar play the previous night at Pittsburgh, a 4-1 victory. Kolzig didn't disappoint. He made key saves at key times to defeat the Sabres, 3-2, and made possibly his greatest start of the season in Montreal two nights later. The Capitals rallied behind Kolzig's 33 saves, most of them difficult, to beat the Canadians, 3-2.

Wilson refuses to call Ranford his backup goaltender, but Kolzig's play may have moved him down a notch, from 1b to 1c.

Kolzig has won a career-high 10 games (10-3-2) and has posted a stellar goals-against average of 2.03. Ranford, meanwhile, is 1-4-0, dropping his last four decisions. His goals-against average is wavering at 3.28.

Upcoming Games

11/18 vs Colorado
11/22 vs San Jose
11/23 at Florida
11/26 vs Montreal
11/27 at Ottawa
11/29 at Boston

The Capitals play their last game at USAirways Arena Nov. 26 against the Montreal Canadians. Before the game, longtime Capital defenseman Rod Langway will have his number retired. Langway's no. 5 will hang briefly in the rafters at USAirways Arena before it's moved to MCI Center, which will host its first hockey game Dec. 5 when the Capitals host the Florida Panthers.

Other highlights during the next two weeks include three straight home games and the second reunion of the year at Boston Nov. 29 with former Capitals Dimitri Khristich, Byron Dafoe, Anson Carter, Jason Allison and Jim Carey. The last three players listed were part of a blockbuster deal last March that sent Carter, Allison and Carey to Boston for Ranford, Oates and Rick Tocchet. Tocchet is now playing in Phoenix.

Goaltender Carey, once dubbed by owner Abe Pollin as the Capitals' franchise player, was benched in favor of Dafoe when the two clubs first met Nov. 5 in Boston. The Bruins won the game 2-0. Dafoe earned the shutout and Khristich had a goal for Boston. Ranford took the loss.

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