NHL: Washington 5, Tampa Bay 2

TAMPA, Fla., March 19 (UPI) -- Alex Ovechkin produced his 50th goal of the season and Mike Green scored twice Thursday night, lifting the Washington Capitals to a 5-2 victory over Tampa Bay.

Ovechkin opened the scoring, but it took three goals in the third period for the Capitals to win for the fifth time in six games. The Washington superstar, who also had two assists, became the first player in franchise history to reach the 50-goal mark three times.

Simeon Varlamov made 26 saves for the Capitals, who have won nine in a row against Tampa Bay. The Lightning lost their second straight and their sixth out of eight.

In a 2-2 game, Green took a pass from Viktor Kozlov and put a wrist shot high over the stick side of Mike McKenna for the game-winner 1:48 into the third period.

Michael Nylander made it a 4-2 game six minutes later and Matt Bradley expanded the lead with 7:34 to play.