Streaking Capitals Win Again

It seemed the breaks weren’t going the Washington Capitals’ way for a change. Then Paul Coffey’s subtle mistake Thursday night allowed the winning goal, and the Capitals tied a franchise record with their eighth consecutive home victory.

Coffey stuck out his leg in an attempt to block Ulf Dahlen’s slap shot from high in the slot. Instead, Coffey deflected the puck enough to throw off goaltender Arturs Irbe as the streaking Capitals defeated the Carolina Hurricanes, 2-1, at Washington.

“He wanted to help me,” Irbe said. “It was an unfortunate situation to make that kind of interference. I thought I had it for sure, and it snaked past my glove. Those plays are the toughest to swallow.”

Even Capital goalie Olaf Kolzig was sympathetic.

“It drives goalies nuts when defensemen try to play goalie like that,” Kolzig said. “Just stand there and let the puck hit you. Don’t try and move out of the way or try to kick it aside. That just creates more havoc for the goaltender.”

The goal, which came with 13:38 to play, was the kind a team will score when it’s on a roll. The Capitals, whose 12-3-2 record since Jan. 1 is the best in the NHL, tied the team record for consecutive home victories set in the 1985-86 season and matched in the 1988-89 and 1997-98 seasons.

“There are some games where we haven’t been playing great, but we’ve been winning the games,” Dahlen said. “That’s the sign of a good team.”

The Capitals are 11-1-1 in their last 13 games. They are unbeaten in 11 games at home (9-0-2) and have failed to gain a standings point in only three home games all season.

New Jersey 4, Nashville 1--Jason Arnott broke a tie with a goal nine seconds into the second period at East Rutherford, N.J., helping the Devils go into the All-Star break with the NHL’s best record.

Bobby Holik, Brendan Morrison and Denis Pederson also scored and Chris Terreri made 31 saves in a rare start for the Devils, who welcomed back Coach Robbie Ftorek from a one-game suspension by improving to 33-15-5.

The Devils are 14-3-2 in their last 19 games.

Dallas 2, Phoenix 0--Ed Belfour made 19 saves at Phoenix for his 48th shutout, leaving the teams tied for the Pacific Division lead going into the All-Star break.

Belfour, who has won seven of his last eight starts, has three shutouts this season and is the all-time leader among active goaltenders.

San Jose 3, Colorado 3--Mike Ricci scored two goals for the Sharks and Milan Hejduk scored two for the Avalanche at Denver.

Colorado rallied from a 3-1 deficit with two goals only 45 seconds apart early in the third period to extend its unbeaten streak at home to 12 games.

St. Louis 5, Vancouver 2--Dave Ellett scored his first goal in more than two years as the Blues won at Vancouver.

The Blues, who have won 12 in a row over the Canucks, won their fifth in a row overall and assured themselves of first place in the Western Conference going into the All-Star break.

Chicago 5, Calgary 5--Eric Daze scored his second goal of the game with 9.7 seconds to play, pulling the Blackhawks even at Calgary.

Boston 4, Toronto 2--Byron Dafoe made 18 saves and four players scored to lead the Bruins at Boston.

It was only the second home win for the Bruins in 12 games and ended the Maple Leafs’ three-game winning streak.

Buffalo 4, Ottawa 2--Rookie Martin Biron stopped 30 shots for the Sabres at Buffalo, N.Y.

Pittsburgh 4, N.Y. Islanders 2--Jean-Sebastien Aubin made 30 saves for the Penguins at Pittsburgh.

Tom Barrasso had been scheduled to start in goal but suffered a bruised hand during the morning skate when he was struck by a shot.

N.Y. Rangers 6, Atlanta 3--Six players scored for the Rangers as they rallied from a 2-0 deficit at Atlanta.

Valeri Kamensky put the Rangers ahead for the first time at 18:57 of the second period, then Alexandre Daigle and Jan Hlavac added insurance goals in the third. Mike Richter, playing for the 34th time in 36 games, turned aside 27 shots.

Montreal 2, Tampa Bay 1--Martin Rucinsky scored 31 seconds into overtime at Tampa, Fla.

Rucinsky was left alone near the right post and scored off a pass from Sergei Zholtok.

Around the League

Goaltender Dominik Hasek of the Buffalo Sabres, who has sat out most of the season because of a groin injury, will not play in Sunday’s All-Star game at Toronto. The NHL announced that Roman Turek of the St. Louis Blues will replace Hasek on the World team. . . . Patrik Elias, who recently set a New Jersey Devil record by scoring points in 15 consecutive games, was added to the World team for the All-Star game. Elias will replace Peter Forsberg of the Colorado Avalanche, who will sit out the game because of a concussion suffered this week against the Vancouver Canucks. . . . The Phoenix Coyotes signed veteran left wing Benoit Hogue to a one-year contract. . . . The Boston Bruins suspended forward Joe Murphy until further notice as punishment for what the club said was an act of insubordination.