NHL: Washington 5, Tampa Bay 1

TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Alex Ovechkin scored his league-leading 38th goal Saturday night and the Washington Capitals built a 3-0 first-period lead en route to a 5-1 win over Tampa Bay.

The Southeast Division-leading Capitals also got a goal from high-scoring Mike Green, who established an NHL record for defensemen with a goal in his eighth straight contest (power play) at 5:33 of the second period.

Alexander Semin had a goal and two assists. Eric Fehr scored once, while Michal Neuvirth, in his NHL debut, stopped 31-of-32 shots for the Capitals, who have won five of their last seven games and have taken eight straight against Tampa Bay, including all three this season.

Tampa Bay's lone goal was Ryan Malone's 19th at 9:30 of the second period. Starting goalie Mike McKenna yielded the three first-period goals on 12 shots before Karri Ramo came on. Ramo was credited with 18 saves on 20 shots for the Lightning, who have lost six of their last eight games.