Capitals top Panthers, take over 1st

WASHINGTON – Mathieu Perreault scored with 13 seconds elapsed Tuesday, Alex Ovechkin had two goals and the Washington Capitals beat the Florida Panthers, 4-0, to take over first place in the Southeast Division.

Former Panthers goalie Tomas Vokoun stopped 42 shots in his fourth shutout of the season, his second against Florida.

Jason Chimera contributed a goal and an assist to help the Capitals supplant the Panthers atop the division. Washington has 60 points and Florida is at 59 with a game in hand.

Winning the Southeast title is imperative to both teams, because the runner-up may not end up among the eight Eastern Conference teams that qualify for the playoffs.

With the win, the Capitals jumped from ninth place to the third seed. Florida is in ninth, on the outside looking in.

Kings 3, Lightning 1: At Tampa, Fla., Kyle Clifford and Dustin Penner had second-period goals to lead Los Angeles past Tampa Bay.

Steven Stamkos got his NHL-leading 35th goal on his 22nd birthday for the Lightning, who are 6-1-1 over their last eight games.

Devils 1, Rangers 0: At New York, Martin Brodeur stopped 30 shots for his first shutout of the season and the record 117th of his NHL career, and New Jersey beat Eastern Conference-leading New York for its fifth consecutive win.

Canadiens 3, Penguins 2 (SO): At Montreal, Tomas Plekanec scored on Montreal’s eighth attempt in the shootout to lead the Canadiens over Pittsburgh.

Islanders 1, Flyers 0 (SO): At Philadelphia, Evgeni Nabokov made 45 saves, and Frans Nielsen and John Tavares scored on Ilya Bryzgalov in a shootout, helping New York beat Philadelphia.

Blue Jackets 3, Wild 1: At Columbus, Ohio, rookie defenseman David Savard scored his first career goal and added an assist to lift Columbus past Minnesota and give the Blue Jackets’ Todd Richards a win in his first game as coach against his former team.

Blues 3, Senators 1: At Ottawa, David Perron scored twice and Brian Elliott made 28 saves in his regular-season return to Ottawa as St. Louis handed the Senators their seventh straight loss.

Canucks 4, Predators 3 (SO): At Nashville, Tenn., Alex Edler scored in the sixth round of a shootout, and Vancouver beat Nashville for its fifth win in six games.