[Hockey News]

Cam Ward recorded his second career regular-season shutout - both against Washington - and Justin Williams, Niclas Wallin and Andrew Ladd scored leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-0 win on Friday night.

Ward made 25 saves for the defending Stanley Cup champions, who entered the day in a three-way tie for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff berth with the idle Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers.

The Capitals have lost six consecutive games and 11 of 12. The Hurricanes had lost three of their previous four games, scoring only six goals in that span. The offense was a bit better - although Wallin's goal was an empty-netter with 29.9 seconds left - but credit goes to Ward and his defense for holding Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals in check.

NHL Capsules

[Lefty Noob]

As you can see, the Caps have lost six straight and 11 of their last 12. How do they turn it around?

[Hockey News]

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) - While the New York Islanders waited for word on how long they'd be without suspended teammate Chris Simon, they wasted no time in putting away the slumping Washington Capitals... The pall that hung over Nassau Coliseum since Thursday when Simon swung his stick and struck Rangers forward Ryan Hollweg in the face was still there Saturday. But once the puck dropped, the Islanders were all business in a 5-2 victory over the Capitals.

Marc-Andre Bergeron has goal, assist as Islanders beat Capitals 5-2

[Hockey News]

ATLANTA (AP) -Eric Boulton set up goals by Bobby Holik and Keith Tkachuk, and the Atlanta Thrashers reclaimed first place in the Southeast Division by beating the Washington Capitals 4-2 on Monday night... Slava Kozlov and Ilya Kovalchuk also scored for the Thrashers, who moved two points ahead of Tampa Bay in the division race. Kari Lehtonen stopped 31 shots... Washington dropped its eighth straight and fell to 2-16 in road games since Dec. 26.

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