PHILADELPHIA: The Washington Capitals pulled within one point of Philadelphia for the NHL Eastern Conference lead by beating the Flyers 5-4 after a shootout Tuesday. 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. Ville Leino, whose shootout goal gave the Flyers a victory at Dallas Saturday, scored on the first shot. Matt Hendricks answered for the Capitals. Philadelphia's Claude Giroux was next and he couldn't get a shot off. Nicklas Backstrom then beat Boucher. Danny Briere kept the Flyers alive when he scored, but Alexander Semin ended it when he backhanded a shot past Brian Boucher and into a top corner. Sabres 2, Canadiens 0: In Montreal, Ryan Miller made 31 saves for his fourth shutout of the season and Nathan Gerbe scored twice to lead Buffalo past Montreal. 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. The Sabres remained three points ahead of ninth-place Carolina. Buffalo was unable to gain ground on seventh-place New York. Coyotes 2, Blues 1: In Glendale, Arizona, Phoenix rallied from a sluggish start to overcome St. Louis. Phoenix was booed by the small hometown crowd late in a lackadaisical first period and was again sluggish to start the second. The Coyotes righted themselves after a timeout by coach Dave Tippett midway through the second, getting goals from Ray Whitney and Lauri Korpikoski. The Coyotes moved within a game of San Jose in the Pacific Division and wining 40 games in consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history. Kevin Shattenkirk scored for the Blues. Bruins 4, Devils 1: In Boston, the hosts took advantage of a foul-prone New Jersey to post a comfortable win. Islanders 5, Lightning 2: In Tampa, Al Montoya made 36 saves, helping New York defeat Tampa Bay. Maple Leafs 3, Wild 0: In St. Paul, Minnesota, Toronto inflicted a seventh straight defeat on Minnesota. Rangers 1, Panthers 0: In New York, Brandon Dubinsky broke a scoreless tie in the third period as New York edged Florida and stretched its winning streak to a season-best five games. Predators 3, Oilers 1: In Nashville, David Legwand scored a goal and added an assist as Nashville beat Edmonton. Hurricanes 4, Senators 3: In Raleigh, North Carolina, Chad LaRose scored twice as Carolina edged Ottawa. Avalanche 5, Blue Jackets 4, SO: In Denver, Milan Hejduk scored the only goal in the shootout to complete Colorado's comeback win over Columbus.
