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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Washington Capitals completed their
improbable climb to first place, a position they haven't held this
late in 11 years.
|  | | Steve Konowalchuk pushes a first-period goal past Panthers goalie Mike Vernon. |
And they did it emphatically, jumping to a four-goal lead
against rival Florida and holding Pavel Bure without a shot for the first two periods. The Capitals beat the Panthers 4-2 Tuesday
night, breaking a tie atop the Southeast Division with 15 games to
go.
"We're not in first place by any means at the end of the season
just because we won tonight," defenseman Calle Johansson said. "But it certainly feels good."
Steve Konowalchuk and Adam Oates scored first-period goals, the
13th of the season for both, Peter Bondra netted his 19th and Ulf Dahlen his 11th for the Capitals.
On Jan. 16, the Capitals were at .500 and trailed the Panthers
by 16 points. But they are 23-5-6 since Christmas and are unbeaten
in six games (5-0-1). The last time the Caps held sole possession
of first place this late was March 17, 1989, and they are 14 games
above .500 (35-21-11) for the first time since 1992.
"It takes two to tango," Washington coach Ron Wilson said.
"We've played very well, and Florida has slumped, a sort of
reversal of fortune."
The Capitals, who lead the league in fewest losses (five) at
home, play nine of their final 15 games at the MCI Center. The
Panthers play six of their next seven on the road.
"We can't get discouraged," said Florida goalie Mike Vernon,
who couldn't be faulted for any of the four goals. "We never came
out with the zip we wanted in the first period. We got caught
behind the 8-ball and had to go scraping back."
Viktor Kozlov scored an unassisted goal late in the second and
Cameron Stewart tallied in the third for the Panthers, 3-7-1 in 11
games. Bure, who leads the league with 45 goals, was a non-factor.
He skated a team-high 26 shifts, but took just two third-period
shots.
"When all the focus is on a player like Pavel, it's a playoff
game," Florida coach Terry Murray said. "When he attracts a lot
of attention, the team has to step up."
Washington and Florida don't play again in the regular season.
The Panthers won the first two meetings, but the Caps won the last
three -- including a 3-1 victory on Jan. 19 that Wilson used as a
motivator.
"That game we played in January, we used that as sort of our
180 degree turn," Wilson said. "And we didn't want Florida to do
the same kind of turn-on-a-dime here tonight, where they could
springboard and regain their confidence."
The Capitals took the lead, just 2:08 in, on their first shot.
Dahlen, working down the right wing on a counterattack, waited
before delivering a pass just as Konowalchuk arrived in front of
the crease to slide home the puck.
Oates was almost in the same spot when he made it 2-0, taking a
pass across the crease from Joe Sacco at 13:44.
Bondra got the third goal during 4-on-4 play at 1:22 of the
second, ripping a slap shot from the right circle off a feed from
Andrei Nikolishin.
Dahlen, an aggressive force throughout the game, was rewarded
with a power-play goal when he put in a rebound at 18:44 of the
second.
Olaf Kolzig made 28 saves for the Capitals, but wasn't smooth early and survived some hairy moments. Ryan Johnson beat Kolzig
with a slap shot in the first period, but the puck trickled just
wide of the post.
Kolzig, 24-4-4 in his last 32 starts, was his usual masterful
self the rest of the way, making a nice leg save on Jaroslav
Spacek's slap shot after a chaotic sequence in the second period.
"We're in a position now that I don't think you were thinking
about a month-and-a-half ago or two months or three months ago,"
Dahlen said. "We've just got to try to keep going."
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Florida Clubhouse
Washington Clubhouse
RECAPS
Washington 4
Florida 2
Nashville 3
Chicago 1
St. Louis 4
Phoenix 0
Colorado 8
Calgary 3
Toronto 2
Edmonton 0
Detroit 3
Los Angeles 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Ulf Dahlen redirects the Steve Konowalchuk shot for the goal.
avi: 485 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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