Capitals Show They Have Fighting Chance

A slumbering offense is no longer a concern for the resurgent Washington Capitals. Their opponents are the ones who are frustrated now.

Jaromir Jagr had a goal and an assist to help lead Washington to its season-high third consecutive victory, 6-2, over the New York Rangers on Friday night at Washington in a game that ended in a wild melee that featured 60 minutes in penalties.

“It’s another steppingstone--the way we’ve been creating offensive opportunities and playing well in our own end,” said Capital Coach Ron Wilson. “We’re worried about the process, and not the end result. The end result will take care of itself if we do what we’re supposed to do.”

Andrei Nikolishin scored twice, and Adam Oates, Ulf Dahlen and Dainius Zubrus also scored for Washington, which had a club-record 27 shots in the second period and capitalized on a match penalty assessed to New York’s Igor Ulanov for sucker-punching Chris Simon in the second.

“We lost our composure, and that’s something we haven’t done,” Ranger Coach Ron Low said.

The game, which degenerated into a series of brawls in the third, ended in a brawl that was sparked by New York’s Dave Karpa’s cross-check on Washington’s Matt Pettinger. Every player on the ice squared off with someone, including the goalies, who dropped their gloves.

“You expect that--it’s part of hockey,” Capital defenseman Brendan Witt said. “They’re just venting out their frustrations.”

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Dallas 3, Philadelphia 3--Joe Nieuwendyk’s goal with 4:45 left in regulation lifted the Stars to a tie at Dallas.

Paul Ranheim gave the Flyers a 3-2 lead with 5:35 left with his second goal of the season on a one-timer from the right circle, but Nieuwendyk tied it with his 10th goal.

Buffalo 5, Calgary 2--The Sabres scored three power-play goals and Martin Biron made 29 saves for the victory at Buffalo, N.Y.

J.P. Dumont, Tim Connolly, Miroslav Satan, Stu Barnes and James Patrick scored for Buffalo, and Alexei Zhitnik had three assists. The Sabres, who ended the Flames’ 10-game unbeaten streak, are unbeaten against Calgary in their last nine meetings (7-0-2).

New York Islanders 3, Toronto 1--Eric Cairns scored his first goal of the season as the Islanders beat the Maple Leafs at Uniondale, N.Y., to regain the Eastern Conference lead.

Shawn Bates and Michael Peca also scored to help New York push its points total to 31.

Detroit 3, St. Louis 1--Dominik Hasek made 34 saves and Steve Yzerman had a goal and an assist as the Red Wings won at Detroit.

Brendan Shanahan and Kris Draper also scored for Detroit, which won its sixth consecutive game and improved to 20-3-0-1 despite being outshot, 34-24.

Chicago 2, Columbus 2--Grant Marshall scored late in the second period as the Blue Jackets tied the Blackhawks at Columbus, Ohio.

Tampa Bay 2, New Jersey 0--Nikolai Khabibulin made 29 saves at Tampa, Fla., for his second shutout in three games.

Nashville 5, Pittsburgh 0--Vladimir Orszagh had a goal and two assists, and Tomas Vokoun stopped 27 shots as the Predators won at Nashville.

Boston 3, Vancouver 2--Joe Thornton scored on a breakaway with 1 minute 12 seconds remaining in the third period to lift the Bruins at Boston.

Minnesota 5, Phoenix 2--Marian Gaborik scored twice, including one of three goals by the Wild’s surprising power-play unit, to win at St. Paul, Minn.