Caps break 3-game skid, beat Panthers 4-1

By By SARAH LARIMER | Associated Press Writer

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Jose Theodore stopped 28 shots, Brian Pothier had a goal and two assists and the Washington Capitals beat the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Friday night to break a three-game losing streak.

Brendan Morrison scored twice and Tyler Sloan added a goal for the Capitals (9-3-4) in the opening contest of home-and-home series with the Panthers.

The Capitals, who were again without injured star Alex Ovechkin, will face Florida (5-8-1) on Saturday night in Washington.

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Florida Panthers goalie Tomas Vokoun misses a Washington Capitals shot-on-goal during second period NHL hockey action in Sunrise, Fla., Friday, Nov. 6, 2009.

By J Pat Carter | AP Photo

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Washington Capitals' Tyler Sloan (89) celebrates after scoring the first goal in the NHL game against the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Fla., Friday, Nov. 6, 2009. The Panthers' Cory Stillman is in the background.

By J Pat Carter | AP Photo

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The Florida Panthers Ice Dancers perform during a break in second period NHL hockey action in Sunrise, Fla., Friday, Nov. 6, 2009, as a pane of glass is replaced in the game between the Florida Panthers and Washington Capitals.

By J Pat Carter | AP Photo

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Nathan Horton scored for Florida.

Tomas Vokoun, coming off back-to-back shutouts, made 21 saves for the Panthers. Vokoun stopped 77 consecutive shots, dating to a second-period goal in Florida's 4-3 loss to Ottawa on Oct. 28, before Sloan scored in the first period.

Ovechkin missed his second consecutive game because of an upper-body injury that he sustained Sunday against Columbus. The two-time defending league MVP is considered week to week and didn't participate in Washington's morning skate Friday. It was Ovechkin's sixth absence in his five-season NHL career, and the fourth time an injury has sidelined him for a game.

Florida's only goal came midway through the third period, after Theodore made the initial save on Dmitry Kulikov's slap shot. Horton put the rebound in, spoiling what would have been Theodore's first shutout since a 3-0 win at Florida on March 17. The power-play goal made it 3-1 at 10:28.

Morrison's second goal was an empty-netter with 38.5 seconds remaining, which put the Capitals up 4-1.

Washington went up 3-0 on Pothier's power-play goal at 6:56 in the third. His slap shot from the left point beat Vokoun on his glove side.

Morrison's goal with 9:14 left in the second period gave the Capitals a 2-0 lead. Morrison took a pass from Brooks Laich and put the puck in the top of the net.

Sloan opened the scoring at 4:53 in the first period with a shot from the high slot.

The Panthers had another close call earlier in the opening period, when a shot from Tomas Fleischmann trickled through Vokoun's pads. It stopped just shy of the goal line, though, and Florida swooped in and cleared the puck.

NOTES: Florida D Bryan McCabe played in his 1,000th career NHL regular-season game. He was honored during a pregame presentation. McCabe, Florida's captain, is the seventh Panthers player to reach the mark in franchise history and the 247th player in the NHL. ... Panthers RW Radek Dvorak, who sustained a lower-body injury Oct. 24, skated Friday morning but did not play. Kamil Kreps (foot) also missed the game.

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