WASHINGTON -- For a weekend at least, the Washington Capitals adjusted nicely to life without Alex Ovechkin. With their star forward out for a second straight night with an unspecified upper-body injury, Washington won its second game in a row with a 3-2 a shootout victory over the Florida Panthers on Saturday night. After Tomas Fleischmann forced overtime with a game-tying, 4-on-3 goal with 2:38 left in the third period, the Capitals recovered with shootout tallies by Mikhail Grabovski, Brooks Laich, and the clincher by Nicklas Backstrom. After Laichs shootout score on Florida goalie Scott Clemmensen, which appeared to come as he lost the puck, Washington goalie Michal Neuvirth made the biggest of his 31 saves, catching Jonathan Huberdeaus attempt with his glove. Backstrom then ended it with a clean shot to the left side. "Tonight was an ugly one," Backstrom said. "Neuvy played great and kept us in the game." Neuvirth finished with 31 saves. Clemmensen had 21. One of the players most relieved by Backstroms deciding shot was defenceman Steve Oleksy (seven blocked shots), who committed the slashing penalty that paved the way for Fleischmanns goal. The score ended Washingtons string of successful penalty kills at 35, with five coming Saturday night "You cant have that. Steven knows that. You cant lose your cool," Washington coach Adam Oates said. "Fortunately, the shootout bailed him out." Florida lost its fifth straight, but showed improvement from its listless 4-0 loss Friday night at home to St. Louis. "I think we stepped in a good direction tonight," Fleischmann said. "We played like a team, pretty good all 60 minutes and I think thats how we get our two points next game." Ovechkin had scored 10 goals in 12 games before he was hurt in the first period Monday at Vancouver. The Capitals have outscored opponents 10-2 without him, but Saturdays win wasnt nearly as easy as Fridays 7-0 domination of the Philadelphia Flyers. "Youre still patching the dike in a sense. You dont want to lose anybody, let alone your star," Oates said. "It proves your team is still a solid hockey team." Washington broke on top late in the first period with a fast-break goal that Backstrom started and finished. After winning a faceoff at the red line, he received a lead pass from Eric Fehr and fired a 15-foot shot through Clemmensens legs. With the score, Backstrom replaced Ovechkin as the team leader in points with 16. Winchester tied it at 8:20 of the second period on a breakaway goal, but Carlson answered 36 seconds later for Washington. Fourth-line centre Michael Latta got his first NHL assist in helping Carlson score the first goal for a Washington defenceman in 30 days. "We need offence from our (defence). Every team does," Oates said. "You could tell by his celebration how much it meant to him." NOTES: The Capitals have a 13-8-2 record in games missed by Ovechkin. ... A night after brawling with the Philadelphia Flyers at the end of their 7-0 win, the Caps were involved in more conventional tussle as Marcel Goc of the Panthers went after Latta after the Washington rookie elbowed Fleischmann, Floridas top scorer. ... Washingtons Marcus Johansson took what appeared an inadvertent stick to his chin in the third period. Fake Nike Shoes Black Friday . Darren Collison and Blake Griffin scored 23 points apiece and the Clippers beat the Suns 112-108 Wednesday night, their fourth win in a row and 17th in the last 19 games. Nike Shoes Black Friday 2019 . The Jets have now won three straight at home and four of the last five at the MTS Centre. After a scoreless first period, Brad Marchand scored his first goal in eight games eight seconds into the second. http://www.nikeshoesblackfriday.com/. Toronto dropped a 7-2 decision to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday afternoon, with only a pair of late runs preventing a second straight shutout loss. Josh Willingham belted a two-run homer in the first inning and Kendrys Morales hit a bases-clearing double in the seventh as the Twins took the rubber game of the three-game series. Nike Shoes Black Friday Sale . For the Miami Heat, that was outstanding news. LeBron James scored the last of his 32 points on a layup that put Miami up for good with 11. Wholesale Nike Shoes Black Friday . It certainly isnt a coincidence that Dwight Howard has scored at least 20 points in each game of the winning streak.Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Jrue Holiday made a season-high four 3- pointers and totaled 22 points with eight assists in the New Orleans Pelicans 104-87 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. Anthony Davis scored a game-high 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting for the Pelicans, who had lost five of six and were on the second of a back-to-back to close out a three-game road trip. Ryan Anderson contributed 11 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Shaking up the starting lineup wasnt enough to jumpstart the Lakers, who remain near the bottom of the Western Conference standings after yet another convincing defeat. Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer were moved to the bench in favor of Ed Davis and Ronnie Price after a 5-15 start to the season. Davis and Boozer both had 12 points in their new roles while the guards struggled to the tune of three points apiece. Kobe Bryant scored 14 points on 18 shots to pace the Lakers, losers in seven of nine.dddddddddddd The Pelicans turned a 10-point halftime lead into a 20-point cushion after a dominant third quarter. Holidays 3 put a stamp on the period and gave New Orleans a 79-59 lead. Alexis Ajinca scored on a hook shot and the newest Pelican, Gal Mekel, had a layup to push the spread to 24 points before a 12-0 Lakers run made it 83-71. Nick Young and Wayne Ellington both scored five during the spurt. But the lead never dipped back into single digits. Austin Rivers ended the flurry with a short bank shot, and Davis scored eight points in the final six minutes of the game to help keep LA at arms length. The Pelicans led 22-16 after one and 50-40 at halftime. Game Notes Six Lakers reached double figures ... Bryant is 63 points shy of passing Michael Jordan for third on the all-time scoring list ... Both teams shot 10- of-15 from the foul line ... New Orleans center Omer Asik had 11 boards. ' ' '