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Perreault stars as Caps top Bruins

Jan 25, 2012 - 5:54 AM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Mathieu Perreault notched his first career hat trick, pacing Washington in a 5-3 victory over Boston at Verizon Center.

Cody Eakin and Dennis Wideman also scored for the Capitals, who head to the All-Star break having snapped a two game slide.

Tomas Vokoun made 29 saves as Washington played without star forward and captain Alex Ovechkin, who served the first of his three-game suspension on Tuesday.

Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand tallied for the Bruins, who hit the break with four losses in seven contests. Tuukka Rask allowed four goals on just 22 shots in defeat.

"Right now, we're just kind of giving teams goals," said Seguin. "Look at tonight. I thought pretty much every goal we earned and I think for at least their first three goals, we just gave them to them."

Perreault reached his milestone with 7:18 gone in the third period. Roman Hamrlik flipped a high shot on net from the point, which Rask blocked away. But the 24-year-old fought off his checker in the slot and slid the rebound home for a 4-3 Washington lead.

Wideman scored an empty-netter from his own defensive zone to ice the game with 27 seconds remaining. Jeff Halpern won the left-circle draw to set up the insurance tally.

"Boston's a good team. They're the measuring stick for everybody," said Capitals coach Dale Hunter. "Boston works hard but we matched it and came up with a victory."

The Bruins took a 1-0 lead with 2:14 left in the first period as Rich Peverley's attempted feed for Milan Lucic through the slot was accidentally swept through Vokoun's pads by a diving Karl Alzner.

Eakin equalized for the Caps at 2:14 of the second, when his shot from the left wing caromed off the end boards, back into the crease and off Rask's blocker and crossed the goal line.

Only 41 seconds later, Perreault one-timed an Alexander Semin feed home from between the circles.

Seguin made it 2-2 with 7:39 left when he deked Vokoun and scored in a small space inside the left post, but Perreault broke free and beat Rask just over two minutes later to restore the hosts' one-goal edge.

Marchand then pumped home a rebound on a power play for a 3-3 game with 2:18 to go.

Game Notes

Ovechkin also announced that he will not attend the All-Star festivities in Ottawa this weekend...Perreault matched his career high in goals with the burst, as he totaled seven in 35 games last year...Bruins forward Nathan Horton missed the game due to a mild concussion suffered when Flyers forward Tom Sestito hit him during Sunday's game in Philadelphia...Both clubs resume their respective schedules next Tuesday, as Washington plays at Tampa Bay, and Boston hosts Ottawa.