Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012

WASHINGTON — Playing with a sense of urgency usually attached to a playoff game, the Washington Capitals needed only 13 seconds to take the lead in their first-place showdown with the Florida Panthers.

Stand well back: Chicago's Jamal Mayers controls the puck ahead of Colorado's Tyson Barrie during the Avalanche's 5-2 win on Tuesday. AP

Thanks to a strong goaltending performance by Tomas Vokoun, that was all the offense Washington needed in a 4-0 victory Tuesday night.

Mathieu Perreault scored shortly after the opening faceoff and Vokoun stopped 42 shots in his fourth shutout of the season, the second against Florida. Alex Ovechkin scored twice for the Capitals, who supplanted Florida atop the Southeast Division.

Jason Chimera contributed a goal and an assist for Washington, which has 60 points. Florida is at 59 with a game in hand.

"We knew what was on the line tonight," Capitals coach Dale Hunter said. "These are four-point games, playoff games, and we're battling with Florida."

Winning the Southeast title is imperative to both teams, because the runnerup may not end up among the eight Eastern Conference teams that qualify for the playoffs.

With the victory, the Capitals jumped from ninth place to the third seed. And now Florida is ninth, on the outside looking in.

"We got beat by the better hockey team tonight," Panthers coach Kevin Dineen said. "We need to understand that, fess up, recognize that our game has to improve and move on."

The Panthers were coming off a 6-3 loss to Tampa Bay. It's only the second time this season they dropped two in a row in regulation; the other time was in October.

Devils 1, Rangers 0

In New York, Martin Brodeur stopped 30 shots for his first shutout of the season and the record 117th of his NHL career, and New Jersey beat the Eastern Conference-leading Rangers for its fifth consecutive win.

Canadiens 3, Penguins 2 (SO)

In Montreal, Tomas Plekanec scored on the Canadiens' eighth attempt in the shootout.

Islanders 1, Flyers 0, (SO)

In Philadelphia, Evgeni Nabokov made 45 saves and Frans Nielsen and John Tavares scored on Ilya Bryzgalov in a shootout.

Blue Jackets 3, Wild 1

In Columbus, rookie defenseman David Savard scored his first career goal and added an assist to lift the Blue Jackets past Minnesota.

Kings 3, Lightning 1

In Tampa, Kyle Clifford and Dustin Penner had second-period goals to lead Los Angeles past the Lightning.

Blues 3, Senators 1

In Ottawa, David Perron scored twice and Brian Elliott made 28 saves in his regular-season return to Ottawa as St. Louis handed the Senators their seventh straight loss.

Canucks 4, Predators 3 (SO)

In Nashville, Alex Edler scored in the sixth round of a shootout and Vancouver beat the Predators for its fifth win in six games.

Coyotes 4, Stars 1

In Dallas, Radim Vrbata scored his 25th goal, former Stars backup Mike Smith made 28 saves and Phoenix improved its playoff positioning.

Avalanche 5, Blackhawks 2

In Denver, Gabriel Landeskog broke a tie 38 seconds into the third period and David Jones added two goals, helping Colorado snap a five-game skid with a win over struggling Chicago.

Jets 2, Maple Leafs 1

In Winnipeg, Bryan Little scored the go-ahead goal in the second period and the Jets edged Toronto.

Ondrej Pavelec stopped 17 shots and Chris Thorburn also scored for the Jets, back home following a 2-4 road trip.

Sharks' Nolan retires

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA — Owen Nolan, who hasn't played in the NHL since the 2009-10 season, announced his retirement Tuesday at the San Jose Sharks' home rink.

"I guess I've known this day was here for a while," said Nolan, a five-time All-Star and Olympic gold medalist with Canada. "It's tough to give it up when your heart and mind wants to keep doing it. My body can't keep up and I had to accept that."

Nolan played 18 seasons and scored 422 goals with 463 assists in 1,200 games. He played for the Quebec Nordiques and Colorado Avalanche, the Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Phoenix Coyotes, Calgary Flames and the Minnesota Wild.

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