Alex Ovechkin had a goal and two assists and the Washington Capitals beat Tampa Bay, 7-4, last night for their fifth consecutive victory and seventh in a row against the Lightning.

Matt Bradley, Boyd Gordon and Mike Green had a goal and an assist each, Sean Collins scored his first NHL goal, and David Steckel and Chris Clark added goals to help Washington improve to 16-1-1 at home.

Vincent Lecavalier scored twice for Tampa Bay, 4-0-1 in its previous five games. Ryan Malone and Mark Recchi added goals.

Lightning defenseman Jamie Heward, a Capital from 2005-07, left the ice on a stretcher with 13:15 remaining after being checked hard into the glass by Ovechkin.

Heward was face-down and motionless on the ice for about 4 minutes before being carefully rolled onto a backboard by paramedics and doctors. Ovechkin skated over to check on his former teammate, who was taken to hospital because of a concussion.

Collins swept a wrist shot from the right point that dribbled through Mike Smith's pads 3:58 into the game. About three minutes later, Steckel got a step on defenseman Andrej Meszaros and deflected Bradley's cross-rink pass at the left post, making it 2-0.

• Sabres 4, Maple Leafs 1: Linemates Jason Pominville and Derek Roy each scored two goals to help visiting Buffalo beat Toronto. Roy also added an assist, and Thomas Vanek and Drew Stafford each had two assists.

• Canucks 2, Predators 1: Jason LaBarbera made 31 saves in his first start for Vancouver since being acquired Tuesday from Los Angeles, and Mattias Ohlund and Willie Mitchell scored goals in a win against host Nashville. LaBarbera allowed only Rich Peverley's power-play goal midway through the second period.

• Montreal Canadiens forward Alex Tanguay will miss six weeks after injuring his left shoulder in a game against Tampa Bay Tuesday night. Tanguay, 29, said he will not need surgery.

First Published: January 2, 2009, 5:00 a.m.