Times wires

OTTAWA — Erik Karlsson and Milan Michalek each had three points Wednesday and the Senators sent the struggling Capitals to their third straight loss, 5-2.

John Carlson and Mathieu Perreault scored in the third period for the Capitals, who are in a tight fight for a playoff spot and have lost seven of their past 10.

Washington's Alex Ovechkin missed the game with a lower-body injury and is listed as day to day.

Ovechkin was on the ice for the morning skate for roughly eight minutes. At one point he tried to gather speed to skate quickly through the neutral zone, but after a few strides he pulled up. He skated over to the bench immediately and went down the tunnel.

"I don't feel pretty good right now," Ovechkin said afterward.

game highlights: In his Avalanche debut, former Lightning wing Steve Downie didn't record a point and had one shot and a minor tripping penalty in host Colorado's 4-1 win over the Kings. … The Blues lost for only the fourth time in regulation at home (26-4-4) and in regulation at home for the first time in 22 games, 4-2 to the Bruins.

around the league: The last-in-the-league Blue Jackets, expected to be major sellers as Monday's trade deadline approaches, sent center Antoine Vermette to the Coyotes for two draft picks and goaltender Curtis McElhinney. "This is part of the process of reshaping the team," GM Scott Howson said. … The Hurricanes took wing Tuomo Ruutu out of trade speculation, agreeing to a four-year, $19 million contract extension. He could have been an unrestricted free agent after this season. … Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews will miss a second straight game tonight, against the Stars, with an upper-body injury.

First Period—1, Ottawa, Karlsson 13 (Spezza, Michalek), 9:36. 2, Ottawa, Michalek 26 (Karlsson), 14:13. Penalties—Neil, Ott (elbowing), 10:09.

Second Period—3, Ottawa, Michalek 27 (Karlsson, Alfredsson), 3:37 (pp). 4, Ottawa, Phillips 4 (Foligno, Neil), 12:08 (pp). Penalties—Green, Was (tripping), 3:03; Karlsson, Ott (slashing), 7:37; Wideman, Was (hooking), 8:03; Brouwer, Was (unsportsmanlike conduct), 10:29; Laich, Was, major (fighting), 12:14; Smith, Ott, major (fighting), 12:14; Foligno, Ott (slashing), 12:50; Michalek, Ott (interference), 15:19.

Third Period—5, Wash., Carlson 8 (Semin), 2:19 (pp). 6, Wash., Perreault 10 (Chimera, Semin), 9:57. 7, Ottawa, Foligno 13 (Neil, Gonchar), 18:47 (en). Penalties—Turris, Ott (hooking), :22. Shots on Goal—Wash. 11-11-13—35. Ottawa 7-9-10—26. Power-play opportunities—Wash. 1 of 5; Ottawa 2 of 3. Goalies—Wash., Vokoun 23-16-2 (11 shots-7 saves), Neuvirth (12:08 second, 14-14). Ottawa, Anderson 29-19-6 (35-33).

First Period—1, Colo., Olver 2 (D.Jones, Winnik), 7:04. 2, Colo., Stastny 15, 13:04. 3, Colo., McClement 8 (O'Reilly, Kobasew), 17:22. Penalties—Downie, Col (tripping), 14:16.

Second Period—4, Colo., Stastny 16 (Landeskog, Duchene), 12:45. Penalties—J.Johnson, LA (roughing), 8:58; Clifford, LA (roughing), 8:58; Nolan, LA, misconduct, 8:58; Kobasew, Col, misconduct, 8:58; Wilson, Col (roughing), 8:58; Landeskog, Col (holding), 10:13; O'Byrne, Col (cross-checking), 13:56.

Third Period—5, L.A., Brown 15 (Doughty, Richards), 4:35. Penalties—None. Shots on Goal—L.A. 10-14-9—33. Colo. 11-11-5—27. Power-play opportunities—L.A. 0 of 3; Colo. 0 of 1. Goalies—L.A., Quick 24-17-11 (11 shots-8 saves), Bernier (0:00 second, 16-15). Colo., Varlamov 16-18-2 (33-32).

First Period—1, Boston, Marchand 20, 2:29. 2, Boston, Lucic 21 (Corvo, Kelly), 6:19. 3, St.L, Stewart 12 (Porter, Arnott), 7:17. 4, St.L, Reaves 2 (Crombeen, Shattenkirk), 12:15. 5, Boston, Kelly 15 (Lucic, Boychuk), 19:20. Penalties—McQuaid, Bos, major (fighting), 2:38; Crombeen, StL, major (fighting), 2:38; Chara, Bos (hooking), 14:00.

Second Period—None. Penalties—None.

Third Period—6, Boston, Marchand 21 (Seguin, Bergeron), 9:14. Penalties—Backes, StL (goaltender interference), 19:25. Shots on Goal—Boston 6-4-9—19. St.L 10-14-8—32. Power-play opportunities—Boston 0 of 1; St.L 0 of 1. Goalies—Boston, Thomas 25-12-0 (32 shots-30 saves). St.L, Elliott 20-7-2 (19-15).