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Kozlov fuels Capitals past Bruins

Mar 17, 2008 - 12:09 AM WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Viktor Kozlov scored the decisive tally in the third round of the shootout as the Washington Capitals skated to a 2-1 triumph over the Boston Bruins on Sunday.

Alexander Semin also was successful on his attempt in the first round and Cristobal Huet stopped Chuck Kobasew and Phil Kessel in the bonus format.

Sergei Fedorov scored in regulation for Washington (35-30-8), which improved to 7-3-0 in its last 10 games and remains five points behind Southeast Division-leader Carolina (39-30-5).

The Capitals moved two points behind eighth-place Philadelphia (35-28-10) in the Eastern Conference.

"I don't think that we were tired at the end of the game, I think we were pensive," Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said.

"Sometimes you have a young team and they know there is so much on the line. When you get out there, you're afraid to make a mistake. We were tight a little bit out there today because of the importance of the game."

Kobasew scored for the third time in as many games for Boston (37-27-9), which pulled into a tie with sixth-place New York Rangers (37-26-9).

In the bonus format, Kozlov's wrist shot beat Alex Auld between the pads to seal the win. Earlier in the shootout, Semin skated in and, after coming to a complete stop, the Russian sniper wristed the puck into the top right corner.

"It's what you expect, really, to have these tight games," Auld said.

Fedorov opened the scoring with 78 seconds remaining in the first period, notching his first goal as a member of the Capitals. The 38-year-old, who has 471 goals in his career, has played in nine games since being acquired by the Capitals during the NHL's trade deadline on February 26.

His goal came with Washington on a 5-on-3 power play.

"It felt good. It wasn't by design, but it felt good," Fedorov said. "Just to shoot the puck with a two-man advantage. Luckily, it went in."

With Boston on a power play, Kobasew leveled the contest midway into the second period by blasting a shot from the slot past Huet for his 22nd goal of the season.

"Basically, they wanted to throw everything at the net," Huet said. "We were very happy to be at the good end of it."

A day after winning an overtime game, the Bruins were almost relieved to not lose in regulation.

"I thought we played well enough to deserve a win here, but that's the way it goes now," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "Every game is so tight, and little things seem to make a difference."

Auld agreed with his coach.

"It's what you expect, really, to have these tight games," Auld said. "Every year, since they implemented the extra point in the shootout, you see so many three-point games down the stretch. Every point's so valuable, teams don't want to give up too many turnovers and giveaways."