Caps goalie needs hip surgery

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Washington Capitals backup goaltender Brent Johnson will have hip surgery Tuesday and the team said he could be sidelined up to eight weeks.

In his ninth NHL season, Johnson has not played since a 7-4 victory against the Ottawa Senators Feb. 1.

The untimely injury to the 6-foot-3 native of Farmington, Mich., came as he was seeing increased playing time behind starting goalie Jose Theodore.

"Sometimes it doesn't let me go one way," Johnson recently told The Washington Post. "(But) it's something that has to be done."

In Johnson's absence, the Southeast Division-leading Capitals have added 20-year-old prospects Simeon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth, the team's first- and second-round draft choices in 2006 to their roster, along with defenseman Karl Alzner from Hershey of the American Hockey League.

Despite the addition of the younger players, Washington has a 13-point lead over the Carolina Hurricanes (72-59).