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  • March 19, 2018 9:11 PM PDT

    WASHINGTON -- Check two more items off the list in an impressive homestretch by the Boston Bruins. Cengiz Under Jersey . They are now Atlantic Division champions, and Jarome Iginla has recovered from his slow start to reach 30 goals once again. Boston accomplished those feats Saturday against the Washington Capitals, a desperate team whose first and foremost goal -- making the playoffs for a seventh straight season -- looked a bit more distant after Saturdays 4-2 loss. "We need these wins so bad," Washington defenceman Karl Alzner said, "that sometimes you overplay. It can be a big problem that can really mess your game up." And its not a good idea to mess up against the Bruins, who have won 14 of 15 and have allowed only 13 goals over 11 games. Iginla scored twice, and Carl Soderberg added a goal to give Boston a 3-0 lead in the second period, more than enough to hold off a surge from a Washington team that woke up too late. The Bruins had already clinched a playoff spot, so the division title didnt create so much as a celebratory ripple in the locker room. "We dont even talk about that. I wasnt even -- I knew there was something that would happen if we won tonight, but we find out now weve clinched and thats fine," coach Claude Julien said. "Again, weve got an opportunity to do even more than that." Patrice Bergeron added a third-period goal to extend his goal-scoring streak to a career-high six games, and Chad Johnson made 31 saves. Iginla reached the 30-goal mark for the 12th time, a nice comeback after scoring only four in the first 24 games this season. "When you look at the start he had, nobody would have predicted that," Julien said. "But hes a pretty streaky goal-scorer." Iginla now has 10 goals in nine games. "Ive been getting some good bounces lately, and its been a fun year," he said. "Fun to win games and be at the top of the league, and to be on some streaks as a group." Washington began the day tied with Columbus, Detroit and Toronto in what has essentially become a four-way race for two playoff spots, but the Capitals would lose a tiebreaker against all three teams. The Bruins gave the Capitals top-rated power play only three chances, and they corralled Alex Ovechkin enough to keep the NHLs leading goal scorer in a 5-on-5 slump. Ovechkin has 48 goals this season, but hasnt scored at even-strength since Feb. 27. The Capitals had no shots on goal in the first 6 minutes and only two after 14 minutes. The game was scoreless after the first period solely because of goalie Braden Holtby, but he could hold down the fort for only so long. A turnover at centre ice allowed Soderberg to spring Iginla for a breakaway that opened the scoring in the second period. A few minutes later, Soderberg redirected an already deflected shot by Bergeron on a power play to make it 2-0, and Iginla made it a three-goal lead by stuffing in his own rebound 41 seconds later. Washington coach Adam Oates said he was "shocked" at how poorly his team started. "I thought our forechecking was lousy," Oates said. When the Capitals finally turned up the intensity, it came from the third line that has led the team in recent weeks. Jason Chimera put Washington on the board with 10 seconds remaining in the second period, and a dominant shift by Chimeras line drew a penalty on Andrej Meszaros in the third. But the Capitals couldnt score during the man-advantage, and soon the Bruins had a power play of their own. With Ovechkin off for charging, Bergeron put in a rebound to restore the three-goal cushion. Oates said the penalty on Ovechkin was a "terrible" call. "I dont like the call, but he called it," Oates said. "He saw something that I dont agree with now, but our job is to kill it." NOTES: Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his second NHL goal in the final minute. ... Capitals D Jack Hillen sat out with an upper-body injury sustained in a collision with Ovechkin during overtime of Tuesdays loss to the Los Angeles Kings. Hillen was replaced by John Erskine, who had been out with a lower-body injury and played for the first time since March 5. ... The Capitals are the last team to beat the Bruins in regulation, a 4-2 win on March 1. Since then, Boston has outscored opponents 54-20 in non-shootout goals. Gregoire Defrel Jersey .com) - The San Antonio Spurs will try to even their series with the Dallas Mavericks Monday night when the two teams collide at American Airlines Arena for Game 4. Abdullahi Nura Jersey . Heavily-criticized after allowing a dozen goals on 58 shots in two games in Boston, Luongo continued his dominance at home. Hes now allowed two goals in three home games in this series.Gainesville, FL - Jon Horford hit the go-ahead shot with 1:18 left in overtime, and No. 8 Florida shook off UL-Monroe by a 61-56 score in a Battle 4 Atlantis preliminary-round contest at OConnell Center. Michael Frazier totaled 21 points and eight rebounds for the Gators (2-1), while Chris Chiozza picked up 11 and Jacob Kurtz recorded 13 rebounds for the victorious hosts. Tylor Ongwae poured in 19 points with eight boards for the Warhawks (2-1). Nick Coppola contributed 11 points in a losing cause. Horford put Florida ahead with his slam, then Kasey Hill connected twice from the free throw line to extend the lead to four. Ongwae countered with a bucket on the other end. ULM, forced to foul, sent Hill, Chiozza and Frazier to the line in the final 15 seconds. They made just 3-of-6 free shots, but it was enough to emerge with the win. The visitors led from the outset, taking an 8-4 lead early before the hosts awoke and shifted momentum for a 12-10 edge. The Warhawks then reeled offf 13 in a row to go up by 11 with just over eight minutes left in the first half and extended the lead to 26-14 on a Marvin Williams triple less than a minute later. Roma Jerseys. Florida closed the half on a 13-3 clip, drawing to 29-27 after a shot from long range by Chiozza. Williams layup moved ULMs margin to 35-29 early in the second half, before another momentum swing from Florida resulted in a 15-0 burst that produced a 44-35 lead on a Chiozza layup with 8:45 to play. The Warhawks refused to go quietly, whittling their deficit from there until Jamaal Samuel and Coppola sank consecutive triples to send the game beyond regulation. Game Notes Louisiana-Monroe shot just 32.8 percent from the floor, but Florida connected on just 32.7 percent of its field goals ... The Warhawks only took eight shots at the charity stripe, while the Gators were afforded 32 opportunities ... Horford led all players with three blocks, while Chiozza produced a game-high four steals.        ' ' '