Mar 23, 2011 4 min read

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Alexander Semin’s shootout goal lifted the Washington Capitals to a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night and pulled them within one point of first place in the Eastern Conference.

Playing without star forward Alex Ovechkin for the first time this season, the Capitals took an early three-goal lead and seemed on their way to tying Philadelphia for the top spot.

But the Flyers scored four straight and earned a point by going into overtime.

Semin beat Brian Boucher with a nifty move and backhanded a shot into the top corner for the winner. Ville Leino, whose shootout goal gave the Flyers a victory at Dallas on Saturday night, scored on the first shot. Matt Hendricks answered for the Capitals.

Rangers 1, Panthers 0

NEW YORK – Brandon Dubinsky broke up a scoreless game 7:49 into the third period and Henrik Lundqvist made 22 saves as the New York Rangers used defense to beat the Florida Panthers and stretch their winning streak to a season-high five games.

New York had been surging on the strength of its newly found offense that produced 17 goals in the previous three games – including at least five in each win. The Rangers have won seven of eight overall, scoring 34 goals in that stretch.

Sabres 2, Canadiens 0

MONTREAL – Ryan Miller made 31 saves for his fourth shutout and Nathan Gerbe scored twice to lead the Buffalo Sabres past the Montreal Canadiens.

Miller recorded his 21st career shutout, his first since a 36-save effort in a 3-0 win over San Jose on Jan. 6.

Gerbe scored for the third game in a row in the second period before adding an empty-net goal for Buffalo, which is currently in the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 81 points.

Bruins 4, Devils 1

BOSTON – Zdeno Chara broke a tie midway through the second period and Milan Lucic scored his 30th goal of the season late in the third as the Boston Bruins beat the New Jersey Devils.

The Devils, who committed one penalty in their previous two games, were called for five in the first two periods, and the Bruins’ struggling power-play unit finally came through. Boston had scored just twice on its previous 34 power-play opportunities entering the game.

Hurricanes 4, Senators 3

RALEIGH, N.C – Chad LaRose scored two goals and Cam Ward made 36 saves to lead the Carolina Hurricanes past the Ottawa Senators.

Tuomo Ruutu also scored, and Cory Stillman added a goal in the third period for Carolina, which began the night three points behind eighth-place Buffalo in the Eastern Conference.

LaRose scored late in the first and second periods to help the Hurricanes recover from a 2-0 first-period deficit.

The Hurricanes scored four times on their first 19 shots against Curtis McElhinney despite continued struggles on the power play. Carolina was scoreless on three man-advantages Tuesday, dropping to four for its last 77 on the power play.

Islanders 5, Lightning 2

TAMPA, Fla. – Al Montoya made 36 saves, helping the New York Islanders to a victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Nate Thompson put Tampa Bay ahead 61 seconds in, lifting a rebound past Montoya.

But, the Islanders scored four straight goals before Thompson helped set up a goal by Dominic Moore with the Lightning holding a two-man advantage midway through the third period.

Predators 3, Oilers 1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – David Legwand scored a goal and added an assist as the Nashville Predators beat the Edmonton Oilers.

Martin Erat, Patric Hornqvist also scored for Nashville, which has won four straight.

Jordan Eberle scored for Edmonton, which has dropped seven in a row.

Maple Leafs 3, Wild 0

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Joffrey Lupul and Mikhail Grabovski each scored goals to get Toronto’s top two lines going and lead the Maple Leafs to a victory over Minnesota, stretching the Wild’s winless streak to seven games.

Rookie goalie James Reimer posted his third career shutout and won his third straight start, improving to 7-0-1 in his last eight road games and helping Toronto keep pace in the Eastern Conference playoff chase.

The 10th-place Maple Leafs, the NHL’s second-youngest team, are a long shot with eight games to go and eighth-place Buffalo still five points ahead. But they passed last year’s points total and raised their record after the All-Star break to 14-6-5, a sign of progress for general manager Brian Burke’s group.