NHL: Washington 4, Tampa Bay 1

TAMPA, Fla., April 18 (UPI) -- Jeff Halpern scored a pair of goals to lift the Washington Capitals to a 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Ben Clymer and Steve Eminger each added a goal and Brent Johnson made 42 saves for Washington, which ended its season with three straight wins.

Ruslan Fedotenko scored the Lightning's lone goal and John Grahame gave up two goals on 16 shots for Tampa Bay, which lost four of its last five games.

Sean Burke gave up two goals on 12 shots for the Lightning, which is locked into the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference and will open the playoffs at top-seeded Ottawa.