NHL Roundup | Tuesday’s games

Capitals 4, Hurricanes 1

WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin scored his league-leading 63rd goal and got all sorts of help in Washington’s victory, a result that left the teams tied atop the Southeast Division at 90 points with two games to go in the regular season. Alexander Semin, Brooks Laich and Matt Cooke scored before Ovechkin’s insurance goal, Sergei Fedorov and Mike Green contributed two assists apiece, and Cristobal Huet made 21 saves. Add it all up, and the Capitals were able to celebrate a five-game winning streak for the first time since March 2001. They’ve also won nine of their past 10 games.

Canadiens 2, Senators 0

OTTAWA — Carey Price made 32 saves for his third shutout and Alex Kovalev scored his 35th goal as Montreal claimed its first division title in 16 years. Mathieu Dandenault and Andrei Kostitsyn also scored for Montreal, which secured the Northeast Division title with 100 points. The sixth-place Senators have a one-point lead over Boston and Philadelphia, who hold the final two playoff spots in the conference. Ottawa is also only two points ahead of ninth-place Washington. Martin Gerber made his 15th straight start for the Senators, stopping 24 shots.

Devils 2, Islanders 1, OT

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Zach Parise deflected in Johnny Oduya’s shot 29 seconds into overtime for New Jersey, which clinched an Eastern Conference playoff berth. Parise won it with the Devils’ 47th shot at Islanders third-string goalie Joey MacDonald. Oduya also had the primary assist on Patrik Elias’ second-period goal that got New Jersey even at 1. Martin Brodeur stopped 21 shots for his 42nd victory over the season, allowing only a goal to Josef Vasicek in the first period.

Predators 4, Blues 3

ST. LOUIS — Rich Peverley scored 1:43 into overtime to complete Nashville’s comeback from a three-goal deficit. Nashville also got goals from Brandon Bochenski, Jordin Tootoo, Vernon Fiddler after falling behind 3-0 early on. Andy McDonald, David Perron and Jamal Mayers scored for the Blues, who scored three times in the game’s first seven minutes.

Sabres 4, Maple Leafs 3

TORONTO — Maxim Afinogenov scored the winning goal in the shootout and Buffalo preserved its slim playoff hopes. Afinogenov, in the sixth round of the shootout, faked right and shot left against Toronto goalie Andrew Raycroft.

Panthers 3, Thrashers 2

ATLANTA — Jay Bouwmeester and David Booth scored 17 seconds apart early in the third period and Florida held to end a three-game losing streak. The Thrashers made it 3-2 with 3:12 left when Mark Recchi scored his 14th goal. Atlanta rookie winger Jordan LaVallee scored his first NHL goal in his second game, tying it at 1 at 13:09 of the second period. Olli Jokinen’s power play goal gave Florida a 1-0 lead in the first period.

Associated Press