NHL ROUNDUP : Capitals Are Slow Starters No More as They Win 16th

Traditionally, the Washington Capitals have been among the slow starters each season in the NHL.

They simply can’t seem to get their game together until at least one-fourth of the regular schedule has been played. In recent years they have finished strong and been a threat in the playoffs.

It has been a different Capital team this year. For the first time in their history they won their first four games.

Peter Bondra scored twice and assisted on another goal Friday night at Landover, Md., to lead the Capitals to a 6-3 victory over the Boston Bruins. It was the first time the Capitals beat the Bruins at Landover in four years.

Bondra helped the Capitals take a 4-0 lead halfway through the second period, then saw the Bruins score the next three before putting it out of reach in the last 2 1/2 minutes.

The Capitals improved to 16-5-0 and increased their lead in the Patrick Division to five points. After 21 games last season they were 10-11.

Vancouver 6, Calgary 5--Defenseman Dave Babych, who had only one goal in the first 23 games, completed a hat trick at 2:19 of overtime at Vancouver to give the Canucks a split in the back-to-back series.

Babych’s third goal of the season and second of the night came with 6:06 left in regulation to get the Canucks even.

Buffalo 2, Chicago 0--The Sabres picked up Tom Draper as a No. 3 goaltender last summer.

All of a sudden, Draper is their star. He outplayed Ed Belfour, generally considered the best goalie in the NHL, in this game at Buffalo.

The unbeaten Draper (4-0-1) stopped 29 shots for his first shutout. Christian Ruuttu scored his first goal of the season while the Sabres were short-handed late in the first period.

New Jersey 8, Hartford 2--The Patrick Division appears to be strong this season. One reason is the improvement of the Devils.

Claude Lemieux scored twice and set up another goal at East Rutherford, N.J., to lead the Devils to another easy victory.

New Jersey goalie Craig Billington stopped 20 shots and improved to 3-0-0.

Detroit 4, Minnesota 3--At Detroit, Sergei Federov continued his hot streak and the Red Wings extended their unbeaten string to eight games.

Federov scored twice, including the winner during the third period. He has three goals and three assists in the last two games.

Toronto 3, San Jose 1--The Maple Leafs, winless in their first seven games on the road, finally prevailed at San Jose.