Caps get best of Cats thanks to third-period surge

Hockey Betting Lines

02/17/2012 - Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin each scored in the third period to lift the Washington Capitals over the Florida Panthers, 2-1, in a key Southeast Division battle.

Tomas Vokoun made 22 saves against his former team to help the Capitals move within two points of the division-leading Panthers.

Washington had been winless (0-2-1) since its 4-0 home win over Florida on February 7. The Panthers had gone 3-1 since that loss to the Capitals last week.

Tomas Fleischmann scored the lone goal for Florida, which got 39 saves from Jose Theodore.

Florida drew first blood with just 39.8 seconds left in the first period. Stephen Weiss carried the puck around the net and passed to Fleischmann, whose one-timer from the left circle beat Vokoun.

The Capitals outshot the Panthers by a 13-4 margin in a scoreless middle stanza.

Ovechkin finally put Washington on the board at the 4:47 mark of the third. With the Capitals on the power play, a scramble for the puck took place in front of Theodore. The disc ended up on Ovechkin's stick and the Russian star found the back of the net.

Semin put the Capitals in front with 6:33 to play, as his slapper from the top of the right circle beat Theodore. The puck deflected of the stick of Florida's Sean Bergenheim and changed direction before getting past the Panthers' netminder.

Vokoun made seven saves in the final frame to preserve the victory.

Game Notes

Washington has taken three of five from Florida this season...Ovechkin has amassed 50 points (23 goals, 27 assists) in 42 career games against the Panthers...Washington started a four-game road trip on Friday...The Capitals went 1-for-6 on the power play, while the Panthers went 0-for-3.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.