Capitals win 4th straight

WASHINGTON (AP) – Brian Pothier scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, and the Washington Capitals won their fourth in a row without the injured Alex Ovechkin, beating the Minnesota Wild, 3-1, on Friday.

Mike Green scored in the second period for the Capitals, Brooks Laich added an empty-net goal in the final minute, and Semyon Varlamov made 29 saves. Cal Clutterbuck scored for the Wild, 2-9-1 on the road this season.

Thrashers 7, Kings 0: At Atlanta, Ilya Kovalchuk and Maxim Afinogenov each had two goals and two assists for Atlanta, and Ondrej Pavelec made 38 saves for his first career shutout.

Sabres 2, Flames 1 (SO): At Buffalo, N.Y., Jason Pominville scored the winner in the fourth round of the shootout, and Ryan Miller made 25 saves for Buffalo.

Blue Jackets 3, Ducks 2 (SO): At Columbus, Ohio, Rick Nash scored the shootout winner and also had a goal in regulation for Columbus, and Mathieu Garon stopped both Anaheim shooters in the tiebreaker after making 32 saves in regulation and overtime.

Islanders 4, Hurricanes 3 (OT): At Raleigh, N.C., Kyle Okposo scored with 14.4 second left in overtime, and rookie John Tavares had his first two-goal game to help New York extend Carolina’s winless streak to 14 games – matching the franchise record.