Division Title Still in Play

Hurricanes Lead, But Caps Are Close

Although the Washington Capitals' best chance of ending a five-year playoff drought appears to be catching the collapsing Boston Bruins and earning the Eastern Conference's eighth seed, Bruce Boudreau and his players aren't willing to concede the race for the Southeast Division title -- not without a fight, anyway.

The Capitals can cut Carolina's lead to three points with five games remaining by winning tonight at RBC Center, a building where they haven't had much success lately. A defeat, however, would virtually hand the Hurricanes the title. The rivals meet for a final time on April 1 in Washington.

"I know [Carolina] is going to want to win because they can pretty much clinch the division if they win," Boudreau said after yesterday's practice in Arlington. "That will be a big motivating factor for them and we want to deny that. . . . It should make for a heck of a game."

Although goaltender Cristobal Huet was not at his best during victories in Nashville and Atlanta, he's expected to start for the fourth time in five games tonight on Tobacco Road, where Washington hasn't won since January 2007, a span of five games, and Carolina has gained points in 12 of its past 13 games. In their most recent visit Feb. 23, Olie Kolzig and the Capitals were shelled, 6-3.

They've gone 9-4-1 since that loss, including 5-1 in their last six, behind Alex Ovechkin, who needs one goal to break Dennis Maruk's 26-year-old franchise mark for most goals in a season (60). Carolina, though, has kept the Capitals at bay with its 9-2 run, despite a lengthy list of injuries to key players such as Ray Whitney, Rod Brind'Amour, Matt Cullen and Justin Williams, each of whom will be out again tonight. Without them, the Hurricanes' surge has been led by center Eric Staal (five goals and 12 assists in those 11 games) and goalie Cam Ward (1.6 goals against in the nine wins).

To beat Carolina, Boudreau said, the Capitals must be better than they were for most of Friday's game against the Thrashers. Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom bailed out their teammates with a combined three goals in the final 8 minutes 30 seconds.

"We went through a lull for three games, and we got lucky enough to win two of them," Boudreau said, referring to the games in Nashville, a 4-2 win, Chicago, a 5-0 loss, and Atlanta. "We didn't play great [in Atlanta]. We're hoping that the sense of urgency that was showed [in the third period against the Thrashers] is the same sense of urgency [tonight], if not more. Because after every game, there's one less."

The Capitals will receive a small boost from the anticipated return of enforcer Donald Brashear, who practiced yesterday after missing Friday's game because of a lower body injury. Without Brashear patrolling the ice, Atlanta was more brazen and physical, particularly early on.

Another rugged Capital, defenseman John Erskine, plans to accompany the team on the three-game trip but said he doesn't anticipate playing before Thursday's game in Tampa. Erskine has missed five games after being caught flush on the face with a punch March 12.

Boudreau also tweaked his forward lines, promoting right wing Eric Fehr to the struggling second line, where he'll skate with Alexander Semin and Sergei Fedorov. The move dropped left wing Tomas Fleischmann to the third line with Matt Cooke and Brooks Laich. Fleischmann has not recorded a point since Feb. 26.

With a victory, Washington also can pull even with Boston for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins, who have dropped six of their past seven games, play at Toronto tonight.

"With the way we're playing and the way Boston is playing, I like our chances," Kolzig said. "But Carolina can determine basically the division. If we don't find a way to win, then the division is over. But if we win, then we still have a chance."