WASHINGTON -- For a weekend at least, the Washington Capitals adjusted nicely to life without Alex Ovechkin. With their star forward out for a second straight night with an unspecified upper-body injury, Washington won its second game in a row with a 3-2 a shootout victory over the Florida Panthers on Saturday night. After Tomas Fleischmann forced overtime with a game-tying, 4-on-3 goal with 2:38 left in the third period, the Capitals recovered with shootout tallies by Mikhail Grabovski, Brooks Laich, and the clincher by Nicklas Backstrom. After Laichs shootout score on Florida goalie Scott Clemmensen, which appeared to come as he lost the puck, Washington goalie Michal Neuvirth made the biggest of his 31 saves, catching Jonathan Huberdeaus attempt with his glove. Backstrom then ended it with a clean shot to the left side. "Tonight was an ugly one," Backstrom said. "Neuvy played great and kept us in the game." Neuvirth finished with 31 saves. Clemmensen had 21. One of the players most relieved by Backstroms deciding shot was defenceman Steve Oleksy (seven blocked shots), who committed the slashing penalty that paved the way for Fleischmanns goal. The score ended Washingtons string of successful penalty kills at 35, with five coming Saturday night "You cant have that. Steven knows that. You cant lose your cool," Washington coach Adam Oates said. "Fortunately, the shootout bailed him out." Florida lost its fifth straight, but showed improvement from its listless 4-0 loss Friday night at home to St. Louis. "I think we stepped in a good direction tonight," Fleischmann said. "We played like a team, pretty good all 60 minutes and I think thats how we get our two points next game." Ovechkin had scored 10 goals in 12 games before he was hurt in the first period Monday at Vancouver. The Capitals have outscored opponents 10-2 without him, but Saturdays win wasnt nearly as easy as Fridays 7-0 domination of the Philadelphia Flyers. "Youre still patching the dike in a sense. You dont want to lose anybody, let alone your star," Oates said. "It proves your team is still a solid hockey team." Washington broke on top late in the first period with a fast-break goal that Backstrom started and finished. After winning a faceoff at the red line, he received a lead pass from Eric Fehr and fired a 15-foot shot through Clemmensens legs. With the score, Backstrom replaced Ovechkin as the team leader in points with 16. Winchester tied it at 8:20 of the second period on a breakaway goal, but Carlson answered 36 seconds later for Washington. Fourth-line centre Michael Latta got his first NHL assist in helping Carlson score the first goal for a Washington defenceman in 30 days. "We need offence from our (defence). Every team does," Oates said. "You could tell by his celebration how much it meant to him." NOTES: The Capitals have a 13-8-2 record in games missed by Ovechkin. ... A night after brawling with the Philadelphia Flyers at the end of their 7-0 win, the Caps were involved in more conventional tussle as Marcel Goc of the Panthers went after Latta after the Washington rookie elbowed Fleischmann, Floridas top scorer. ... Washingtons Marcus Johansson took what appeared an inadvertent stick to his chin in the third period. Carter Kieboom Jersey . -- Canadas Nicole Vandermade won the Four Winds Invitational on Sunday for her first Symetra Tour title, closing with a 4-under 68 for a one-stroke victory. Fake Nationals Jerseys . According to TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun, Brodeurs agent Pat Brisson has spoken to six teams so far regarding the veteran goaltender. https://www.cheapnationals.com/137r-mich...-nationals.html. The moves were the first punitive steps taken by the Dolphins since a report on the NFLs investigation of the case was released last week. Investigators found that guard Richie Incognito and two teammates engaged in persistent harassment directed at tackle Jonathan Martin, another offensive lineman and an assistant trainer. Tanner Rainey Jersey .com) - Former FBI director Robert Mueller said his investigation found no evidence that the NFL saw the elevator video of Ray Rice striking his then-fiancee before the tape was released in September. Austen Williams Jersey . -- Manager Bob Melvin shuffled the Athletics batting order and got the type of production he was looking for from the top of the lineup. JEREZ, Spain -- Jenson Button steered his repaired McLaren to the fastest lap on Wednesday, and Nico Rosberg helped Mercedes rebound from Lewis Hamiltons crash with the longest run on the second day of Formula One preseason testing. Otherwise, most teams continued to struggle with their new cars following a massive rulebook overhaul that includes a shift to a turbo engine and more sophisticated energy recovery systems. Four-time defending world champion Sebastian Vettel only managed eight laps around the Jerez track before Red Bulls engine maker, Renault, reported a malfunction and the team decided to call it quits. That gave Vettel a total of 11 laps to start the preseason. "Obviously weve not had a lot of running and have a few problems to sort out, but with such big rule changes it is usual to have some teething problems. Thats what tests are for, to sort those issues out," said Vettel, who now hands the wheel to new teammate Daniel Ricciardo for the remaining two days in southern Spain. An electrical problem had kept Button in the garage on Tuesday, but he was the first out on wet tires in the morning and after the asphalt had dried he set the benchmark lap time with 1 minute, 24.165 seconds. The former world champion is aiming to help McLaren bounce back from its worst season since 1980 after it didnt reach the podium last year. Rosberg led the eight-car field with 97 laps, a day after a front wing problem sent Hamiltons Mercedes flying into the barrier. Rosberg said the new Mercedes F1 W05 has little in common with its predecessor and compared its steering wheel to a "smartphone with all the information on it." After overnight rain, the sessions 9 a..ddddddddddddm. start was delayed as a tractor worked its way around the track spraying more water on the already damp asphalt so teams could test Pirellis tires for wet surfaces. But by noon the sun had come out and the track was dry as forecasts of showers never materialized, leaving teams to run under normal conditions. All the teams are struggling to get their cars race ready in time for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 16. They will have two more tests in Bahrain before heading to Melbourne. So far, they have combined for 424 laps across two days of testing. Last year, with the preseason starting after far fewer tweaks to the rules governing car design, drivers combined for more than 1,500 laps over the first two days here. Ferrari appears to be handling the new regulations the best. Kimi Raikkonen followed up his fastest lap time from Tuesday with the second-fastest lap on Wednesday, 0.647 seconds behind Button. Local favourite Fernando Alonso will drive for Ferrari on Thursday and Friday. McLarens promising recovery from Tuesdays no-show coincided with its hiring of Eric Boullier as its new racing director. Boullier joins a week after leaving rival Lotus, in a restructuring at McLaren that recently included luring back former team principal Ron Dennis as its new chief executive. F1 newcomer Marcus Ericsson came to a stop in his Caterham for the days third and final red flag. Sergio Perezs Force India had spouted smoke earlier after Esteban Gutierrez ended up in the gravel in his Sauber. F1s new rules include a shift to a 1.6-litre V6 turbo engine from last years 2.4-litre V8. They also affect the cars fuel limits, weight and body design. ' ' '
