Thomas Godoj Thread » on the Rettenbach glacier in Austria.LOS ANGELES -

Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) - Nicklas Backstrom notched his first career hat trick to lead the Washington Capitals to a 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. Braden Holtby stopped 26 shots, Eric Fehr scored an empty-net goal and Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson each supplied two assists for the Capitals, who have won four of their last five games. You just have to put the puck on the net, Backstrom said. Some nights are just like this. Tyler Johnson and Matt Carle each scored late in the third period and Ben Bishop made 24 saves for Tampa Bay, which has dropped three of its last four. After a scoreless first, Tampa Bay was unable to take advantage of a 5-on-3 power play for a full two minutes after Mike Green went off for hooking and Ovechkin sat for roughing at 6:49 of the second. The Capitals gained momentum after the big penalty kill and got on the board a few minutes later when Backstrom cruised into the slot and lifted a backhander over Bishop at 10:33. Ovechkin slipped a pass back to Backstrom, who had initial shot turned aside, but tapped in the rebound for a 2-0 lead with 1:20 remaining in the middle stanza. Backstrom raced up the slot, took a dish from Ovechkin and tallied the hat trick after his wrister found twine 2:17 into the third. The Lightning pulled within a goal late in regulation. Johnson scored on a wrister from the right circle with under five minutes remaining and Carle weaved around a defender before beating Holtby less than two minutes later. Tampa Bay pulled Bishop with over a minute to play, but Fehr fired a puck into the empty net to seal the win. Midway through the first, Valtteri Filppula skated around the back of the net and slipped a pass to Steven Stamkos, who deposited the puck into a wide-open net. The referees, however, conferred and waved off the goal, ruling that Ryan Callahan interfered with Holtby. Washington held a 12-2 shot advantage after the opening 20 minutes of play. Game Notes The Capitals have won 17 of their last 21 home games against Tampa Bay since the start of the 2007-08 season ... Ovechkin scored twice in Washingtons 5-3 win over the Lightning on Tuesday ... Tampa Bay defenseman Radko Gudas was a late scratch due to a stomach virus ... The Capitals are now 13-1-2 when scoring first ... Washington forward Jason Chimera was a healthy scratch. Michael Raffl Jersey . Wayne and Cindy Tuck of Ilderton, Ont., closed out round-robin play earlier in the day with a 7-3 win over Finland but needed a win over Austria to reach the final eight. Philadelphia Flyers Jerseys . -- The Los Angeles Clippers chose not to speak publicly about owner Donald Sterling before they faced the Golden State Warriors for Game 4 of their first-round series Sunday. http://www.hockeyflyersauthentic.com/sha...sbehere-jersey/. The Toronto Blue Jays star won his second consecutive Hank Aaron Award as the most outstanding offensive performer in the AL on Monday after votes by fans and a panel of Hall of Famers were tallied. Brian Elliott Flyers Jersey . -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have released veteran guard Davin Joseph, a mainstay on their offensive line over the past eight seasons. Travis Konecny Flyers Jersey . Ted Ligety, Mikaela Shiffrin, Bode Miller and Tim Jitloff underlined the squads enormous potential on the Rettenbach glacier in Austria.LOS ANGELES -- Chris Paul had 21 points and eight assists, Blake Griffin added 20 points before both All-Stars sat out the fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Clippers breezed to a 108-76 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night. Nine-year veteran Danny Granger did not make his debut with the Clippers because of a technicality on the teams active list, which is signed by coach Doc Rivers before every game and relayed to the officials. Grangers name was printed by hand by a member of the public relations staff under the heading: "Updated Roster Additions," but the number on the sheet was not circled along with the other active players by the required deadline of 6:30 p.m. local time, which is mandatory. As a result, referee Bill Spooner ruled Granger ineligible and instructed him to change back into street clothes. The Clippers didnt need their newest small forward in the wire-to-wire victory, which extended their winning streak to four games and increased their Pacific Division lead to four games over Golden State. It was the fourth game this season in which the Clippers winning margin was 30 or more points. Tyreke Evans had 22 points and nine rebounds for New Orleans. But Anthony Davis picked up three fouls in his first 7 minutes on the court and finished with eight points, three nights after spraining his left shoulder in a loss against Dallas. Los Angeles opened a 27-11 lead while New Orleans missed 17 of its first 20 shots. Former Clipper Eric Gordon, who went to New Orleans in the multiplayer deal that brought Paul to Los Angeles, started 0 for 8 before ending the drought with a short running bank shot. By then, the Pelicans were staring at a 43-24 deficit with 5:26 left in the first half. They shot 3 for 22 from 3-point range and committed 22 turnovers that were converted into 33 Clippers points. The Pelicans, buried in last place in the Southwest Division and 10 1/2 games behind fourth-place Memphis, are 8--19 since Jan.dddddddddddd 4, when they began an eight-game losing streak at Indiana. Theyve dropped their last seven, including a 123-110 decision to the Clippers at home last Monday. It was the second straight start for Evans, who had been used exclusively in a reserve role this season before Mondays 116-104 loss at Phoenix. He was primarily a starter at the shooting guard spot during his first four NBA seasons with Sacramento, after getting picked fourth overall in the 2009 draft. One day after the Pelicans made it official that point guard Jrue Holiday will miss the remainder of the season following surgery in Los Angeles to repair a stress fracture in his right tibia, backup Brian Roberts had four points and missed seven of eight shots. New Orleans is 8-17 since Roberts replaced Holiday in the starting lineup. The Clippers also played without Jamal Crawford, who strained his left calf during Wednesdays 101-93 win over Houston; and J.J. Redick, who hasnt played since Feb. 3 because of a bulging disc in his lower back. NOTES: Granger signed with Los Angeles on Friday after his contract was bought out by the Philadelphia 76ers, just six days after the 76ers acquired him from Indiana. His Clippers debut will now be Tuesday night at Phoenix. ... Pelicans G Austin Rivers, the son of the Clippers coach, had 19 points off the bench. ... Granger, who turns 31 in April, was born in New Orleans and played his high school ball in Metairie, La. He was limited to only five games last season because of patellar tendinosis in his right knee, and was sidelined for almost two months at the start of this season because of a left calf strain. ... The Clippers have had an least one player with double-digit rebounds in 59 of their first 61 games and each of the last 38. ... Los Angeles has won nine of its last 12 meetings with New Orleans after losing 14 in a row. Each of their Pelicans previous two losses to the Clippers was by 13-point margins. ' ' '