Alex Ovechkin scored two goals in his return from a two-game suspension and the Washington Capitals beat the Tampa Bay Lightning for the 12th consecutive time, 3-0 on Monday night.
Ovechkin was suspended by the NHL following a kneeing penalty during a Nov. 30 game with Carolina. Both of his goals came during the Capitals' three-goal second.
Semyon Varlamov, who turned aside a spinning backhander by Vincent Lecavalier in the second, finished with 26 saves. The Washington goalie is 12-1-2 with two shutouts this season.
Eric Fehr also scored for Capitals, who set a team record with the 12-game winning streak against the Lightning. Washington won 11 in a row against the New York Islanders from March 1998 to March 2000.
Tampa Bay has lost five of six.
Ovechkin put Washington ahead 1-0 from the left circle off a pass through the slot from Alexander Semin at 7:39 of the second. He made it 3-0 on a power-play goal with 24.1 seconds left in the second.
The Capitals went up 2-0 on Fehr's goal at 12:32 of the second. He has five goals and 10 points during a career-high seven-game point streak.
Washington coach Bruce Boudreau is 12-0 against the Lightning. The Eastern Conference-leading Capitals have a six-game winning streak.
NOTES: Tampa Bay hasn't beaten Washington since Nov. 16, 2007. ... Capitals D Shaone Morrisonn (concussion) returned after missing eight games. ... Semin had two assists and has six assists and eight points in his last three games. He has 10 multipoint games this season. ... Washington RW Matt Bradley left the team to be with his wife for the birth of their first child. ... The Capitals assigned D Karl Alzner to Hershey of the AHL.
