Halphern finds goal twice to lead Caps past Bolts

Jeff Halpern scored twice and goalie Brent
Johnson stopped 42 shots Tuesday night, leading the Washington
Capitals to a 4-1 victory over the playoff-bound Tampa Bay
Lightning.

• Halphern finds goal twice to lead Caps past Bolts

Capitals 2, Panthers 1, SO

Matt Pettinger made up for his missed penalty shot in the shootout.

Pettinger beat Jamie McLennan with a low shot in the fourth round of a shootout and Brent Johnson stopped Jozef Stumpel's attempt to give the Washington Capitals a 2-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Saturday night.

"I pretty much knew I needed to do something different," said Pettinger, who came up empty on a penalty shot in the first period. "The five hole opened up and I put it there.

• Capitals 2, Panthers 1, SO

Capitals-Panthers Preview

GAME: Washington Capitals (26-41-12) at Florida Panthers (36-34-10).

TIME: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. EDT.

The Florida Panthers look to continue their dominance of the Washington Capitals and complete a season sweep as the teams meet at the BankAtlantic Center.

The Panthers have won eight straight games overall against the Capitals, outscoring them 26-14 and converting 28 percent (13 of 46) of their power-play opportunities in that span.

• Capitals-Panthers Preview

Luongo, Panthers top Caps for fourth straight win

Jon Sim, Jozef Stumpel and Joe Nieuwendyk
scored goals and Roberto Luongo made 28 saves to lead Florida to
its first four-game winning streak of the season with a 3-2 victory
over Washington on Wednesday night.

• Luongo, Panthers top Caps for fourth straight win

Capitals-Lightning, Sums

Washington 1 0 2 0-3

Tampa Bay 1 0 2 1-4

First Period-1, Washington, Ovechkin 45 (Morrisonn), 5:01. 2, Tampa Bay, Boyle 14 (Richards, Fedotenko), 11:14 (pp). Penalties-Clymer, Was (hooking), 8:45; Clark, Was (broken stick), 9:09; Morrisonn, Was (holding), 11:06; Lecavalier, TB, major (fighting), 20:00; Pettinger, Was, major (fighting), 20:00.

Second Period-None.

• Capitals-Lightning, Sums

Capitals-Hurricanes, Sums

Washington 1 1 1-3

Carolina 0 0 1-1

First Period-1, Washington, Ovechkin 47 (Laich), 1:50. Penalties-Commodore, Car (holding), 4:10; Williams, Car (delay of game), 10:17; A.Ward, Car (holding), 12:05; Eminger, Was (slashing), 19:18.

Second Period-2, Washington, Pettinger 18 (Morrisonn), :46 (sh). Penalties-Carolina bench, served by Ladd (too many men), 2:25; Wesley, Car (slashing), 9:18; Willsie, Was (interference), 9:59; A.

• Capitals-Hurricanes, Sums

Ovechkin scores 47th as Caps top Hurricanes

Alexander Ovechkin scored his 47th goal as the Capitals ended an eight-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over the Hurricanes.

• Ovechkin scores 47th as Caps top Hurricanes

Ovechkin nets 47th in Washington win

Dynamic rookie Alexander Ovechkin scored his 47th goal, Matt Pettinger added a short-handed score and the Washington Capitals snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.

It was Pettinger's fifth with his team down a man, tying him for the best in the NHL, as Washington won for the first time since beating Pittsburgh 2 1/2 weeks ago.

• Ovechkin nets 47th in Washington win

Capitals-Hurricanes Preview

GAME: Washington Capitals (23-38-9) at Carolina Hurricanes (47-18-6).

TIME: Wednesday, 7 p.m. EST.

After earning their first playoff berth in four years their last time out, the Carolina Hurricanes look to clinch the Southeast Division title when they host the last-place Washington Capitals.

Martin Gerber made 23 saves as the Hurricanes beat Tampa Bay 2-1 on Monday to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since losing in the 2002 Stanley Cup finals.

• Capitals-Hurricanes Preview

Capitals 3, Hurricanes 1

Dynamic Alexander Ovechkin is finishing up his first NHL season in fine fashion. Maybe now, the Washington Capitals can do the same.

"Hard work, it's almost like our DNA now," Washington right wing Dainius Zubrus said. "We step on the ice, and one thing we're going to do is work hard. It starts from the older guys and works its way down."

All the way down to the rookie.

• Capitals 3, Hurricanes 1