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Associated Press
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GAME: Edmonton Oilers (16-18-7-1) at Washington Capitals (12-26-4-1).

TIME: Sunday, 6 p.m. EST.

The Edmonton Oilers can move out of last place in the Northwest Division when they visit the Washington Capitals at the MCI Center.

The Oilers are only one point behind fourth-place Minnesota in the division, and the Wild will be idle until they host Nashville on Monday.

Edmonton positioned itself for a climb out of the cellar with a 3-0 victory at Philadelphia on Saturday. The Oilers are 3-1-0-1 on a six-game road trip. They are currently just four points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

"We're out of the playoffs right now," said goalie Tommy Salo, who earned his first shutout of the season. "We have to get going in the second half and try to make sure we catch the other teams."

It was the 35th career shutout and 200th NHL win for Salo, who stopped 26 shots. Salo has started eight of the Oilers' last nine games since returning from a hip injury. Edmonton is 4-2-1-1 over that span.

"Sometimes the puck hits you and sometimes it doesn't, and tonight was one of those nights," Salo said.

Edmonton, which owns the NHL's worst penalty-killing unit, held Philadelphia scoreless on five power plays.

Washington finally earned the 1,000th victory in franchise history with a 4-1 home decision over Carolina on Friday. The Capitals were 0-6-1 since beating Montreal on Dec. 23.

Washington coach Glen Hanlon made some adjustments, placing Jaromir Jagr on the same line with center Jeff Halpern and Robert Lang.

The move worked beautifully as the Caps got goals from Andrew Semin, Lang and Jagr. The team had scored just eight goals during the slide.

Jagr, who had not scored a goal since the team's last victory on Dec. 23, had only one point in his previous seven games.

"I didn't think it was different," Jagr said. "But I'll tell you what, if you want to go on a hot streak, you've got to win the ugly games."

The Oilers have one win in their last 10 visits to Washington (1-8-1), and are 9-17-2-0 there all-time.






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