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Caps and Bolts battle for Southeast supremacy

Mar 7, 2011 - 3:57 PM (Sports Network) - The Washington Capitals are back on top in the Southeast Division for the first time in almost two months. Set to play for a second straight night, the stay could be short-lived with a loss this evening to the hosting Tampa Bay Lightning at St. Pete Times Forum.

The Capitals surged to their fourth straight victory on Sunday, besting the Panthers, 3-2, in overtime one day after the Lightning dropped a 4-2 decision to the Canadiens. That chain of events saw Washington leap over Tampa Bay in the standings, with the Caps now holding a one-point edge over the Bolts.

Nicklas Backstrom and Boyd Gordon both scored in regulation and Alexander Semin tallied 48 seconds into overtime in Washington's fourth straight road victory. That has the Capitals in first place for the first time since sharing the lead back on Jan. 17.

Michal Neuvirth made 32 saves for the Capitals, who have won four straight for the first time since Nov. 24-Dec. 1. A victory tonight would give them their second-longest winning streak of the season behind only a six-game run from Oct. 30-Nov. 11.

With Semyon Varlamov out with a knee injury, Neuvirth is likely to start what should be a playoff-like contest this evening. The 22-year-old is 2-0 with a 3.43 goals-against average in three career starts versus the Lightning, allowing eight goals on 88 shots. He hasn't faced them since Nov. 11 even though the teams wrap their six-game regular-season series this evening.

"Sometimes it's good to play the close games," Neuvirth said after beating the Panthers. "It's intense, and I don't mind playing intense games."

Washington has won three of the five meetings with the Lightning this year, including a 5-2 triumph in Tampa when the clubs last met on Feb. 4. Alexander Ovechkin paced the Capitals' offense with a goal and three assists, while Backstrom had a pair of goals and two helpers.

The victory was Washington's 18th in the past 22 meetings overall and ninth in its last 11 trips to the Forum.

The Lightning will try to turn things around quickly after losing a third straight contest on Saturday to the Canadiens. Vincent Lecavalier and Dominic Moore had the goals, while Dwayne Roloson made 19 saves.

"You can tell in the first period they were a little bit quicker on the pucks," Lecavalier said. "When you're the first on the puck, that's usually the team that's going to win."

The Lightning have lost three straight in regulation for the first time since Nov. 11-14 and have yet to drop four contests in a row this season. Saturday's loss came in the opener of a four-game homestand.

Roloson will also be looking for a rebound effort tonight versus Washington. He won his first two starts against the Capitals by way of a shutout, stopping 57 shots total, after being acquired from the Islanders back on Jan. 2, but gave up all four goals on 35 shots faced in the last meeting in February.

Lifetime, Roloson is 8-5-3 with a 2.19 GAA versus Washington.

Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos, who leads the NHL with 41 goals, has just one goal in the five meetings this season with the Capitals and has just one goal in his past 11 games overall.

Ovechkin, meanwhile, has a pair of goals and seven assists in the five games this year against the Lightning and has tallied five goals and eight assists over his past 11 contests.