Ovechkin has 37 goals and 74 points in 56 games again

[lw789]

WASHINGTON -- Julien Brouillette wont be joining his five Washington Capitals teammates who are on their way to play Olympic hockey in Sochi. He did, however, help send them off on a winning note. Brouillette broke a scoreless tie with his first NHL goal midway through the third period, Braden Holtby stopped 25 shots and the Washington Capitals beat the New Jersey Devils 3-0 Saturday night in the teams final game before the Olympic break. "I couldnt think of anything. It was so confusing, but great at the same time," Brouillette said of the goal. "Its going to be hard to sleep tonight." After the Capitals controlled a faceoff in the New Jersey zone, Brouillette beat Cory Schneider on the short side with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle at the 10:50 mark. The goal follows an assist Brouillette earned in his NHL debut Thursday night. "Im sure hes flying pretty high right now," Capitals coach Adam Oates said. "Big goal. I havent seen the replay yet, but I know it was close to being tipped and the goalie getting frozen there a little bit there. But you know what, (Nicklas Backstrom) won a draw. Thats what its about." Martin Erat scored an empty-netter with 1:47 left for his first goal of the season to go along with 21 assists, and Troy Brouwer added another -- his 100th career goal -- 36 seconds later. Backstrom had two assists. After starting in place of an ill Michael Neuvirth and getting the win Thursday night, Holtby earned his third shutout of the season and 10th in his career in Saturday nights win. "He came in there (Thursday night) and played great and played very solid today," Oates said. Scoring chances were at a premium for both teams. "Obviously the Devils play that kind of game. They are will to play it every night, and its a frustrating team to play," Oates said. "They dont give you much. I looked up with nine minutes left in the third period, and I think it was 20 each in shots. Both teams played stingy." Schneider finished with 23 saves. "We didnt do enough offensively I thought to draw enough penalties to maybe create some power plays late," New Jersey coach Peter DeBoer said. "We had enough chances to get two or three goals. Weve got to finish something off." The win moves Washington to within one point of eighth place in the Eastern Conference with 63 points. The Capitals have won three of their last four and snapped a seven-game losing streak (0-6-1) against Metropolitan Division opponents. "Crucial," Capitals defenceman John Carlson said of the win. "This one a little bit more than the last one, but obviously for our team everythings crucial right now, and (well) carry a little bit of momentum into the break and we know we have our work cut out for us when we get back." New Jersey is in the thick of the hunt with 61 points, and both teams will have 23 games remaining after the break. "Teams have made late charges and gotten in the playoffs and done some damage in the playoffs. Of course we think there is still time," Schneider said, "but weve got to put words into action here and make it happen." The Devils, playing the second of back-to-back games, have lost 5 of 7. Carlson (United States), Alex Ovechkin (Russia), Backstrom and Marcus Johansson (Sweden) and Erat (Czech Republic) are the Capitals headed to Sochi. From New Jersey, Jaromir Jagr, Patrik Elias and Marek Zidlicky will be joining the Czech Republic team, and Damien Brunner will play for Switzerland. The Devils outshot the Capitals 11-6 in the first period as the teams failed to convert two power-play opportunities apiece. Early in the second, New Jerseys Adam Henrique took a centring pass and wristed a shot past Holtby, but it ........................ off the left post. "I thought we battled hard," Elias said. "We played most of the game the way we wanted to. They just got the one goal that we didnt." Later in the period Schneider stopped Karl Alzners wrister from close range and made two follow-up saves on Jay Beagle. NOTES: The Capitals finished 0 for 4 on the power play and the Devils were 0 for 3. ... New Jersey D Anton Volchenkov (lower ....... injury) missed his third straight game. ... Washington D Mike Green (concussion) missed his fifth game and C Mikhail Grabovski (left ankle injury) missed his eighth. ... New Jersey leads the season series 2-1. Marquinhos Brazil Jersey .com) - The Calgary Flames are spoilers once again. Ramires Brazil Jersey . Yup, he definitely needed this one. Craig homered twice and had three RBIs Wednesday night to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Craig went 4 for 5 and Yadier Molina added three hits for the Cardinals, who salvaged the final game of a three-game set in hopes of staying within shouting distance of front-running Milwaukee in the NL Central. http://www.officialbrazilonline.com/wor ... ll-jersey/. The two-time Olympic halfpipe gold medallist informed ESPN on Monday he plans to compete in Apsen, Colo. Elias Brazil Jersey . -- Atlanta Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson is being checked for a possible concussion after blowing a tire on his way to the first workout of spring training. Robinho Jersey . -- Challenged for the first time under Major League Baseballs expanded replay system, umpires got it right.TAMPA, Fla. - The Washington Capitals put together a nice little run away from home.Braden Holtby made 33 saves, Alex Ovechkin scored twice to break out of a four-game drought, and the Capitals beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 on Tuesday night to complete a perfect three-game road trip.We needed to play simple, stay focused all the time, and it was a great result for us, Ovechkin said.Washington also got goals from Matt Niskanen, Brooks Laich and Troy Brouwer. Ovechkin has 37 goals and 74 points in 56 games against Tampa Bay.Our big guys showed up tonight and scored some goals for us, and I thought we got contributions right through the whole lineup, Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. There wasnt any passengers.Ovechkin opened the scoring 40 seconds in when he beat Ben Bishop from in-close. He added his 436th goal, one shy of tying Pavel Bure for 66th place on the NHL career list, with an empty-netter.Steven Stamkos scored his 250th goal for the Lightning, who have lost three of four. The Tampa Bay captain became the 10th youngest NHL player to reach the milestone at 24 years, 305 days.To be honest, I havent really thought about it, Stamkos said. Five-hundred maybe, thats something different.Brian Boyle and Valtteri Filppula had the other Tampa Bay goals.Laich made it 3-2 at 4:36 of the second, and Brouwer made it a two-goal edge with 9:08 to play.Holtby stopped six shots during the first three minutes of thee third period.dddddddddddd With his 71st win, Holtby moved past Pete Peeters and Jim Carey into fourth place on the teams career list.One of the things I think Braden has taken on is that blue-collar Saskatchewan work ethic a little bit, and its showing up in the games, Trotz said.Stamkos pulled the Lightning even at 2 from the slot 47 seconds into the second.Were not playing the way we need to to be successful, said Stamkos, who was minus-3.Filppula hit the post during a late second period Tampa Bay power play. He scored his first goal in 11 games with 3 seconds remaining in the gameNiskanen put the Capitals, who entered with the NHLs top road power-play unit, up 2-1 with a man-advantage goal with 5:37 left in the firstBoyle tied it at 13:49 with his first goal and point in 15 games.Bishop made 30 saves. Victor Hedman had three assistsNOTES: Nicklas Backstrom and Marcus Johansson had two assists apiece for the Capitals. ... Washington D Mike Green (upper .......) missed his eighth straight game, but could return soon. ... Lightning rookie F Jonathan Drouin was a healthy scratch for the fourth time in 12 games. ... Capitals LW Aaron Volpatti has been cleared to practice with Hershey of the AHL. ... Washington D John Carlson, playing in his 323rd consecutive game, had an assist. He broke a tie with Kelly Miller for the second longest streak in team history. Bob Carpenter is first at 422 games. China Jerseys ' ' '