NHL: Washington 6, Florida 2

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Alexander Semin scored two goals and had two assists Thursday as the Washington Capitals skated to a 6-2 win over the Florida Panthers.

Washington made up for the loss of reigning MVP Alexander Ovechkin (two-game suspension) by scoring twice in each of the first two periods.

Semin returned from a right wrist injury.

The lead grew to 6-0 on third-period power-play goals by Brendan Morrison and Semin before Stephen Weiss broke up Simeon Varlamov's shutout bid at the 16:38 mark of the third.

Nicklas Backstrom and Matt Bradley (shorthanded) also scored, while Varlamov made 26 saves on 28 shots for the Capitals, who have won four in a row since a three-game losing streak.

They rose to 5-1-1 this season in games without Ovechkin.

Jeff Taffe also scored, while net-minders Alexander Salak and Scott Clemmensen combined to yield six goals on 44 shots for the Panthers, who have lost six of seven.