Capitals Closing on Devils

The Washington Capitals are moving closer to the New Jersey Devils for the most points in the Eastern Conference.

Jeff Halpern scored two short-handed goals, and Olaf Kolzig made 27 saves Thursday night to lead the Capitals to a 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers at New York.

With the victory, their 10th in 13 games, the Capitals have 92 points--three behind the Devils.

“We said when we were nine points back that we set our sights on New Jersey, and now we’ve gotten within three,” Washington Coach Ron Wilson said. “Obviously they’re worried with the way things have happened in New Jersey today. We just have to continue to play our game and get points.”

The Devils fired Coach Robbie Ftorek on Thursday, promoting assistant Larry Robinson.

Adam Oates had a goal to extend his scoring streak to eight games, and Chris Simon also scored for the Capitals. Washington has the NHL’s best record since Jan. 1 at 27-7-5.

Colorado 4, Phoenix 2--Joe Sakic scored three goals, including the 400th of his career, to lead the Avalanche at Phoenix.

The win moved Colorado two points ahead of the Edmonton Oilers for the Northwest Division lead while the loss was the fifth in a row and eighth in 10 games for the Coyotes.

Florida 3, Boston 1--Mark Parrish and Cam Stewart scored 2:51 apart in the third period as the Panthers overcame a sluggish start at Boston.

Buffalo 4, Calgary 2--Jay McKee and Miroslav Satan scored in the final 2:08 at Buffalo, N.Y., to lift the Sabres into eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

Satan scored two goals, ending a 13-game goal drought.

Detroit 6, Nashville 3--Sergei Fedorov had a goal and two assists to lead the Red Wings at Nashville, where the Predators are 13-21-3--the worst home winning percentage in the Western Conference.

Ottawa 3, Toronto 2--Radek Bonk scored the winning goal midway through the third period at Kanata, Canada, as the Senators moved to within three points of the division-leading Maple Leafs in the Northeast Division.