The 26-year-old Castillo, from Venezuela, played both second and third base for Pittsburgh last season, hitting .244 with 24 RBIs and no homers. In 2006, he hit .253 with 14 home runs and 65 RBIs.

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Olivo was not tendered a contract by the Marlins before becoming a free agent. Florida acquired catching prospect Mike Rabelo from Detroit in a trade this month.

The Royals and Olivo each hold options for the 2009 season. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The 6-foot, 220-pound Olivo has thrown out 31.2 percent of attempted base stealers the past two seasons, the fourth-best in the National League. Olivio also has played for the Chicago White Sox, Seattle and San Diego, hitting .239 in his career with 61 home runs and 224 RBI in 556 games.

“Miguel is a talented catcher with a power bat and a very strong throwing arm,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. “With him and John Buck, they form one of the most powerful catching duos in baseball.”

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Courtney Prince was fired in January 2004. She later claimed MSG failed to properly protect the dozen skating cheerleaders from being touched inappropriately when they went into the crowd at games and required them to be glamorous and to wear padded bras, fake eyelashes and hairpieces.

A statement released on her behalf said: “We resolved this matter with no admission of wrongdoing on the part of any party, and I will have no further comment.”

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Madison Square Garden refused to settle with former Knicks team executive Anucha Browne Sanders when she accused coach Isiah Thomas and MSG of sexual harassment. Instead, she was awarded $11.6 million in October after a trial that embarrassed the organization and the NBA.

MSG eventually settled for $11.5 million shortly before both sides were to return to court for the punitive phase.

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Alas, after taking a 16-0 lead, the Jazz squandered the advantage by halftime. But they reversed their trend of weak finishes and beat the Dallas Mavericks 99-90 on Wednesday night.

Carlos Boozer scored 21 points, including six of Utah’s last seven. Although he was hampered by foul trouble, Boozer finished strong for the Jazz, who had been struggling in the closing moments of games in the past few weeks.

“It’s a big win for us. It feels good to be on the other side. We beat a very good team and held our composure at the end for a change. We executed our plays and finished strong,” said Boozer, who shot 8-of-13 and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Jazz to their third win in the last 12 games.

Andrei Kirilenko and Deron Williams had 17 points apiece as the Jazz improved to 10-2 at home.

The Jazz led by 10 points in the fourth quarter before Devean George made back-to-back 3-pointers. The Jazz, bolstered by steals by Kirilenko and Ronnie Brewer, then held the Mavericks scoreless for almost 4 minutes.

“We weren’t very good from the start but you’ve got to give our guys credit for battling and coming back,” Dallas coach Avery Johnson said.

Dallas stayed close with 3-pointers until Boozer made a mid-range jumper and a dunk that put Utah ahead 97-89 with 1:28 to play.

“We closed out a ballgame for a change,” Williams said. “We have always felt like we are one of the better teams in the Western Conference, but we haven’t been playing that way. Tonight is a move in the right direction.”

Dirk Nowitzki had 20 points for Dallas but made just 3-of-10 from 3-point range as the Mavericks abandoned any attempt at an inside game in the fourth quarter. Devin Harris and Josh Howard each had 17 points for the Mavericks, who had their five-game winning streak snapped.

“We made them take tougher shots farther from the basket. They have great jump shooters but we certainly didn’t make it easy for them. We hung our hat on defense tonight,” Boozer said.

The Mavericks didn’t score until Brandon Bass’ jumper 5:12 into the game.

“We got after them. We were playing the passing lanes, getting deflections and making them take tough shots. We struggled on the road and we needed a win so we played with a lot of intensity,” Brewer said.

But Dallas whittled away at the lead and actually passed the Jazz just before the end of the first half. Kirilenko’s dunk before the buzzer regained the lead for the Jazz, 47-46.

Dallas and Utah seemed to be headed in opposite directions since their last meeting on Dec. 8, when Howard and Williams reached career highs in points. Williams had 41, but Howard scored 47 points and led Dallas to a 125-117 victory. The Mavs were winning and the Jazz became mired in their worst streak of the season.

But this game was much more physical and the Jazz had 12 steals and forced 18 turnovers. Though the Jazz are a higher-scoring team this year at nearly 105 points a game, they win when they play inspired defense. The Jazz improved to 10-0 when holding their opponents under 95 points.

“We played much better defense than we have lately. We talked, we helped each other and we moved quicker,” Williams said. “That kind of effort always helps us on the offensive end and we got pretty much any shot we wanted.”

The third quarter began much like the first as the Jazz put the Mavericks on their heels.

“We had all the momentum going into halftime and knocked the game down to one. Then in the third, we gave up some shots again and dug ourselves a little too deep,” Harris said.

Williams had 12 assists and his adept passes on the pick-and-roll in key moments helped erase Utah’s recent faltering finishes. The Jazz outscored the Mavericks in the paint, 44-28.

George and Jerry Stackhouse combined for 24 points but fellow reserve Jason Terry missed all 10 of his field goal attempts and the Mavs managed just 43 percent shooting.

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Paul Pierce scored 14 of his 16 points during a 33-5 second-quarter run that led the Celtics to their first win in Sacramento in more than 11 years, an 89-69 victory over the Kings on Wednesday night.

Boston has won 12 of 13 games, but the early season success has been attributed to a soft schedule as well as the offseason additions of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to a lineup that had relied primarily on Pierce in recent years.

The Celtics played just their 11th road game of the season Wednesday and first against a team in the Western Conference. They have three more in the next four days of this trip, including Allen’s return to Seattle on Thursday and weekend games at Utah and the Los Angeles Lakers.

“If we play like we played in the first half I’m fine with being on the road,” Rivers said. “If we play like we did in the second half the road can be long. We just have to do a better job of executing on both ends. I thought in the third quarter we stopped scoring and then we stopped defending too.”

The NBA-leading Celtics (23-3) started slowly, scoring just 18 points in the opening quarter and trailing by four early in the second. That’s when they found their groove, closing the half on the big run to go up 53-29.

Instead of coasting from there, the Celtics lost their shooting touch at halftime. They missed their first seven shots in the third quarter as the Kings went on a 14-1 run to cut the Boston lead to 11.

Allen led the way with 17 points and Garnett added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who had lost 11 straight at Arco Arena since Feb. 16, 1996. Pierce had been a part of nine of those losses.

“It’s the only building I probably hadn’t won in in my whole NBA career,” Pierce said. “I got that off my back now.”

Sacramento got within five points early in the fourth quarter when Ron Artest scored off an offensive rebound before Eddie House and James Posey hit consecutive 3-pointers to start an 8-0 run that put the Celtics back in control.

It was a chippy game with the Celtics getting called for two technicals and the Kings committing many hard fouls.

“I got poked in the eye twice tonight and I got elbowed in the head,” Garnett said. “It’s part of the game. I could tell they were a little edgy. Some of their guys were out of character doing some of the things they were doing. I guess they were doing whatever they thought they had to do to win this game.”

Artest scored 15 points to lead Sacramento. John Salmons added 13 and Francisco Garcia had 12 for the Kings, who scored 27 points in the third quarter but just 42 in the other three. Sacramento shot 38.2 percent in their lowest scoring game of the season.

“We can try to analyze this all you want but we did not play well, they played well and we’re not good enough to sustain something like that,” Kings coach Reggie Theus said.

The Celtics started the big second-quarter run by scoring nine straight points in a 58-second span, getting a three-point play from Allen and consecutive 3-pointers from House to go back up by five.

That’s when Pierce took over. After going scoreless in the first 17 minutes of the game, Pierce scored 14 points in the final 7 minutes of the half, hitting his third 3-pointer in the final minute to make it 53-29.

As well as Boston shot that quarter, hitting six of 10 3-pointers, they were even tougher on the defensive end, forcing 12 turnovers and limiting Sacramento to 32.4 percent shooting in their best defensive first half of the season.

The Kings missed 10 of their final 11 shots in the half, with their only basket in the final 9 minutes coming on a jumper by Salmons with 5:24 left.

“We were ready but things didn’t go our way tonight,” Garcia said. “I don’t think it was their defense. We were just careless.”

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Tony Parker led San Antonio with 28 points. Michael Finley added 15 and Tim Duncan had 11 rebounds. The Spurs were up by double digits for almost the entire second half and led by as many as 25 points.

Joe Smith had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Ben Gordon added 18 points for the Bulls. Assistant coach Pete Myers, who played in the NBA for eight years, served as interim coach for Chicago.

“I thought effort-wise we played in spurts,” Myers said. “I thought our first unit had some moments that looked pretty good. I thought our bench outside of Chris Duhon didn’t give us very much.”

The Spurs have seen Parker and Duncan sit out several games this season with injuries. And while center Francisco Elson returned Wednesday after missing three games with a sprained right ankle, San Antonio was without its No. 2 scorer, reserve Manu Ginobili, who has a sprained left index finger.

And on Wednesday, the Spurs lost key role player and 3-point shooter Brent Barry when he strained his left calf with 3:20 left in the first quarter.

The team said Barry will have an MRI Thursday. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich called the loss of Barry and Ginobili, two key perimeter players, disappointing.

Since the timeline for those two players to return is unknown, the rest of the bench knows it will have to step up.

“Manu and Brent are huge offensive weapons off the bench,” said Matt Bonner, who scored 12 points. “So I wouldn’t say it adds pressure on us but it definitely makes things easier if other guys off the bench can come in and provide a lift on offense.”

The Bulls, though, had issues of their own. While they came out with energy and went up by five points early, they couldn’t get into an offensive groove and lost for the fourth time in five games.

“We tried to do something that we’ve never really done on Tony, just different pick-and-roll coverages,” said Chicago’s Kirk Hinrich. “And he just kind of got off on us. They did a good job of figuring out what we were doing and taking advantage of it.”

Skiles was let go on Christmas Eve as the Bulls, who started with high hopes, continued to struggle this season. They lost 10 of their first 12 games and have a 9-17 mark, one of the worst in the East.

“I’ve been here for four years with the same coach,” said Luol Deng, who scored 12 points for the Bulls. “It’s going to be an adjustment.”

Myers said lead assistant coach Jim Boylan had stayed behind in Chicago. Myers said he wasn’t sure whether he would continue to be interim head coach for upcoming games.

“I don’t know that yet, which is kind of good, because we always talk about taking one game at a time, taking one play at a time,” he said before the game. “That’s basically what I’m doing now.”

Bruce Bowen, Ime Udoka and Bonner all scored 12 points for San Antonio.

Duhon scored 13 points for Chicago and Ben Wallace, who has been dealing with a sore left foot, scored just two points on 1-of-4 shooting.

“Anything Ben Wallace gives us offensively is a bonus,” Myers said. “I don’t think you go into a game looking for him to score. I thought he did a respectable job against Tim Duncan tonight.”

After a good first quarter, the Bulls cooled in the second and shot 8-of-21 from the field, just as Parker heated up.

With the Spurs already up by seven, Parker scored 10 points in a 15-4 run that put them up 47-29 with 4:35 left in the half.

Parker scored 12 points in the quarter and had 17 at the break, when San Antonio was up 51-39. The Spurs went ahead for good on Finley’s jumper with 12 seconds gone in the second quarter that put San Antonio up 23-22.

The Bulls seemed to lose energy as the game went on, allowing San Antonio to extend its lead to 72-59 by the time three quarters were done and pull even farther away in the final 12 minutes.

Parker’s bucket that counted because of a goaltending call gave the Spurs an 86-65 lead with 6:33 to go. Finley’s bucket gave San Antonio its biggest lead, 94-69 with 3:56 to play, and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich subbed most of his starters soon after.

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Goalie Chris Osgood stopped 20 shots to record his 45th career shutout. Brian Rafalski added a goal and two assists, Jiri Hudler chipped in with a goal and an assist and Nicklas Lidstrom had the other tally for the Red Wings, who improved to 27-7-3. St. Louis, playing in front of its largest crowd of the season — 19,250 — fell to 18-13-3.

Filppula, who has 11 goals in his second NHL season, scored twice in a span of 126 seconds in the second period to put the Red Wings in control, 4-0. Pavel Datsyuk set up the first tally with a pass across the goal crease that Filppula tipped past St. Louis goalie Manny Legace. Minutes later, Filppula scored off a feed from Hudler.

“I got a couple lucky bounces and my teammates made some great plays setting me up,” said the native of Vantaa, Finland. “I was in good position and they got me the puck.”

Filppula couldn’t have picked a better time for a breakout performance. Zetterberg, who has 25 goals and 50 points, missed the game with a back injury and Holmstrom suffered a bruised knee on Dec. 20.

“It’s sad because we need those guys out there,” said Filppula. “But it gives more ice time to others so they can show what they can do.”

Detroit coach Mike Babcock was more than pleased by the way his front-liners filled in.

“Injuries give you the opportunity to find out how good some of the other guys are,” he said. “Actually, it helps your team get deeper over time. If your team is a good team, the injuries will make your stronger.”

Filppula is on a roll, with seven goals in his last nine games after beginning the season with 10 scoreless games.

Osgood, who improved to 16-2-1, helped the Red Wings make an early statement by stopping Andy McDonald from close range in the first minute of the game. The triumph served as revenge for Osgood, who had his eight-game unbeaten streak stopped in the Blues’ 3-2 win in St. Louis on Dec. 20.

The Red Wings gave up a 2-1 lead in that contest six days ago but came out ready on Wednesday.

“The last time we came in here we let them dictate the physical style of play,” said Babcock. “This time, we just said, ‘let’s go out there after them.”‘

Lidstrom, who signed a new $15 million, two-year contract earlier in the day, got Detroit started with a blast from the left faceoff dot just 2:26 into the game. Hudler made it 2-0 on a sharp pass from Mikael Samuelsson in the second period. Filppula then exploded for his two goals before Rafalski rounded out the scoring.

The win was the fifth in six games for Detroit, which improved to 10-1-1 in December.

St. Louis, which has won just twice in its last six games, was 0-for-5 on the power play.

“We played them hard,” said St. Louis coach Andy Murray. “We recognize them for what they are – a great team.”

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Butler, who missed Saturday’s loss to Indiana after injuring both ankles in a week, had a three-point play late in the third quarter to put Washington ahead to stay.

His fadeaway with 4:07 left put Washington ahead 101-90. After the Bobcats cut the lead to three with 26 seconds left, Nick Young got behind Charlotte’s defense and Mason found him for an open dunk to put it away.

It was part of a big night for Mason, who continued his torrid play since replacing Antonio Daniels, who missed his fifth straight game with a sprained right knee. He scored 16 points in the first quarter, then had consecutive 3s in a 15-2 third-quarter run.

Washington needed big games from the four, as the rest of the team combined for 13 points on 5-of-18 shooting.

Gerald Wallace scored 32 points and Jason Richardson added 27 for the Bobcats, who lost their second straight game.

Charlotte’s big men struggled. Emeka Okafor didn’t grab his first rebound until late in the first half and finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Nazr Mohammed was in foul trouble most of the night and was held to six points and 12 rebounds. The Bobcats were outrebounded 44-39.

Mason, a former second-round pick who has bounced around the league and spent two years playing in Israel, couldn’t miss to start the game. He shot 6-for-6, including four 3-pointers in the first quarter as the Wizards scored a season-high 41 points in the first period in building and 11-point lead.

Jordan improved to 200-252 in six-plus seasons in the NBA, including a short stint with Sacramento.

Bobcats coach Sam Vincent, upset with the officiating all night, shouted at the officials on the court after the game and had to be restrained by assistant coaches Lee Rose and Paul Mokeski.

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The Hawks are three games over .500 this late in the season for the first time since the 1998-99 season, the last time they made the playoffs.

The Hawks’ last five-game winning streak came early the following season, from Nov. 27-Dec. 8 in 1999.

The Hawks broke a 70-all tie with 12 straight points to take the lead for good. The streak covered the last 2 minutes of the third quarter and continued with back-to-back baskets by Josh Childress for an 82-70 lead in the final quarter.

Troy Murphy, who led Indiana with 19 points, hit back-to-back 3-pointers to help the Pacers cut the lead to 84-81, and another 3 by Danny Granger again made it a three-point game at 89-86.

Anthony Johnson answered with a 3 as the Hawks scored seven straight points for a 96-86 lead, forcing the Pacers to call a timeout with 3:48 left. Jamaal Tinsley scored on a one-on-three drive to the basket to cut the lead to 96-92, but Josh Smith answered with a three-point play for Atlanta, and Smith’s 3-point shot with 37 seconds left put away the game.

Joe Johnson had 26 points and 11 assists to lead six Hawks who scored in double figures. Smith added 16 points and seven rebounds. Marvin Williams had 14 points.

Jermaine O’Neal had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Indiana. Tinsley had 16 points and 12 assists.

Smith, limited by foul trouble, had only five points and three rebounds through three quarters before playing a lead role in the final 8 minutes. Smith, Anthony Johnson and Williams entered the game with 7:53 left, after Murphy’s two 3-pointers cut the lead to 84-81.

Indiana, making its only visit of the season to Atlanta, closed the first quarter with a 9-0 run for a 25-23 lead. A 3-pointer by Kareem Rush helped the Pacers stretch the lead to 32-25. ^Notes: G Marquis Daniels remained at the Pacers’ team hotel in Atlanta, suffering from a respiratory infection. … After being out of uniform for 11 games with a strained left calf, Hawks G Tyronn Lue dressed but did not play. … Ike Diogu had six points and two steals in only 6 minutes for Indiana in the first half. One of his steals set up his dunk.

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Peja Stojakovic finished with 21 points and David West added 20 for the Hornets, who shot 56 percent.

Rudy Gay and Mike Miller led Memphis with 19 points apiece, while Kyle Lowry finished with 15 on 6-of-8 from the field. Lowry also had eight assists.

Pau Gasol, the Grizzlies’ second-leading scorer, finished with eight points, ending a streak of 81 games in double figures. That was the third-highest in the league behind Carmelo Anthony and Ray Allen.

Paul helped the Hornets run the lead to as many as 18 in the third quarter, scoring 16 points and handing out four assists in the period.

The Hornets eventually extended the lead to 20 points in the fourth.

Gasol, who seemed to settle for outside shots most of the night rather than challenge Tyson Chandler, was booed on several occasions when he didn’t take the ball to the basket. Chandler finished with 13 rebounds and 12 points, while Gasol managed only six shots.

New Orleans led 52-50 at the break behind 15 points from Paul and 12 by West. Miller scored 15 in the tight half, when both teams shot 50 percent.

Paul helped the Hornets break away in the third period, scoring nine points and assisting on two more baskets before the midway point of the quarter, keying an early 15-5 run. Stojakovic added 10 points to help New Orleans carry a 86-73 lead into the final period.

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Chauncey Billups added 17 points and 10 assists and Antonio McDyess had 15 points and nine rebounds for Detroit, which has won 13 of 15. Rasheed Wallace added 13 points for the Pistons, who were 24-of-37 from the field in the second half.

It marked the seventh straight game the Pistons have held their opponent under 90 points.

Vince Carter led the Nets with 21 points, but only six came in the second half when New Jersey was limited to 39 points on 12-of-32 shooting. Jason Kidd had a game-high 13 assists but missed all eight of his shots from the field. Richard Jefferson added 18 points.

The Pistons, who hit their first six shots to open the game, came out even hotter in the second half, making their first seven.

Unlike the first half when they struggled after the fast start, the Pistons just kept pouring it on in the third quarter.

After the teams exchanged two baskets at the start of the half, Billups hit a layup to ignite an 11-0 run that featured three baskets by Wallace, the last a rim-hanging dunk on a fast break.

Hamilton, who also had a basket in the run, added three sweet jumpers and a layup in pushing the lead to as many as 16 points in the quarter.

New Jersey never got closer than 14 points the rest of the way.

The Pistons, who shot nearly 65 percent in the second half, struggled after their flurry to open the game. However, their defense was the key to getting back into the game just before halftime.

Down 42-36, Billups hit two of three free throws to spark a 9-2 run in the closing minutes of the first half. Hamilton added a jumper, Jason Maxiell had a free throw and McDyess added two more after getting the rebound of Maxiell’s second miss.

A driving layup by Billups with 4.5 seconds left in the half gave Detroit the lead for good.

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Iguodala scored a season-high 28 points, Kyle Korver and Lou Williams added 13 apiece and the Philadelphia 76ers held off the pesky Miami Heat 96-85 on Wednesday night.

Miller had 12 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds for the Sixers, who improved to 12-16 and defeated the Heat for the 13th time in the last 15 games in Philadelphia. The Sixers won their second game in a row before starting a six-game road trip beginning Friday night in Sacramento.

Iguodala scored 23, including the winner as time expired, while Miller had 29 in Saturday’s 99-97 win at Memphis.

“The experience of Andre Miller really helps us in these situations,” Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said. “He set the tempo. He scored in the first half, and in the second half, he decides whether to score or distribute.”

Iguodala shot 10-of-17 and also added seven rebounds.

“We’ve been talking this last week about finishing our games,” Iguodala said.

Dwyane Wade scored 20 of his 27 points in the second half and Ricky Davis added 21 for Miami, which dropped its second in a row on back-to-back nights. The Heat (8-21), who lost 96-82 at Cleveland on Wednesday, fell to 4-12 on the road and remain mired in last place in the Southeast Division. Daequan Cook had 12.

“We just didn’t have it,” Miami coach Pat Riley said. “We weren’t playing hard. We were obviously out of sync.”

Philadelphia led by 19 points early in the third quarter before the Heat began to chip away. Miami got within 74-64 when Wade went the length of the court and converted a layup with 0.2 seconds remaining.

The Sixers responded with a pair of 3-pointers by Iguodala and Korver to take a seemingly commanding 80-64 lead.

Miami later went on a 13-2 run, with Wade scoring eight points, to cut the Sixers’ advantage to 84-81 with 5:08 remaining.

Philadelphia came right back with six straight points, two baskets by Samuel Dalembert and a dunk by Iguodala, for a 90-81 advantage.

The Sixers sealed the victory when Williams drove around Wade and threw down a one-handed dunk over Udonis Haslem for a 93-81 lead with 1:49 left.

“It’s tough to lose,” Wade said. “But it’s tougher to be the worst team in the Eastern Conference. You don’t know what you’re going to see from one night to the next.”

Even though Dalembert picked up two fouls in the first 1:27, the Sixers later built a 21-point advantage in the second quarter and cruised to a 55-38 lead at halftime.

The Sixers quickly jumped ahead thanks to hot shooting by Iguodala, who had 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and steady play by Miller, who added 12 points and six assists.

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Denver’s Tyler Ruegsegger and New Hampshire’s James vanRiemsdyk also each had a goal and assist, and Boston University’s Colin Wilson and Minnesota’s Mike Carman added goals. Jeremy Smith, who plays for Plymouth in the Ontario Hockey League, made 17 saves, allowing only Alexander Kurshuk’s game-opening goal.

In the other Group B game, Russia beat Finland 7-4. In Group A play in Pardubice, John Tavares scored twice in three-time defending champion Canada’s 3-0 victory over the Czech Republic, and Sweden beat Slovakia 4-3.

Matthew Halischuk also scored for Canada, Steve Stamkos had three assists, and Jonathan Bernier made 44 saves for the shutout.

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“Guys came in and were ready to play and we played a simple game,” said Leclaire, who was credited with an assist on Dan Fritsche’s goal. “If we play that kind of hockey when our stars come back there’s no reason we shouldn’t win a lot of hockey games.”

Injured Blue Jackets’ forwards Fredrik Modin, Michael Peca and Manny Malhotra were also out of the lineup.

The Thrashers saw their four-game winning streak snapped in their first visit to Columbus in just over four years. Ilya Kovalchuk, the league’s top goal scorer with 29, was held to just two shots.

“We really played hard,” Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock said. “We did an unbelievable job of checking and creating chances in the first two and a half periods.”

With Rick Nash nursing a sore throat, Fritsche and Jared Boll picked up the scoring for Columbus, which entered having tallied only four goals in the last four games, three of them losses.

Fritsche started the scoring with a power-play goal at 7:39 of the first period on a wrist shot down the right wing that snuck under the arm of goalie Kari Lehtonen. Defenseman Ron Hainsey weaved into the Atlanta zone, flicked a backhand pass to an open Fritsche before setting a half-screen near the crease.

The man-advantage tally was only the Blue Jackets’ sixth in their last 58 opportunities.

“We had every excuse to lose this game tonight,” Fritsche said referring to a depleted line-up. “We took it as motivation, knew a lot of guys were going to have to step up and a lot of guys did that.”

Defenseman Kris Russell hit the post later in the period on another power play.

Boll made it 2-0 early in the second period with his fourth thanks to a persistent forecheck. While linemates Sergei Fedorov and Curtis Glencross created havoc near the Thrashers net, he dragged a loose rebound away from Jim Slater while gliding backwards and slotted a low shot from the edge of the crease just beyond the reach of Lehtonen.

“Guys stepped up and we played a team game,” Boll said.

Columbus continued to apply the pressure with Nikolai Zherdev clanging a shot off the left post on a power play that started at 13:16.

The teams skated to a scoreless third period with Atlanta still not generating any real scoring chances.

“They were doing the things that we talked about doing,” Atlanta general manager and coach Don Waddell said. “We were coming 200 feet the whole night. They were bottling us up in their own zone and the neutral zone.”

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David Steckel had a goal and two assists for the Capitals, who earlier in the day learned that the team removed the “interim” tag from Boudreau’s title and formally named him the 14th head coach in the history of the franchise.

“The goal when you take the job is to be here a long time,” Boudreau said two hours before the opening faceoff.

Bradley’s goal came after Steckel took a shot that was deflected and hit Tampa Bay goalie Karri Ramo in the chest. The rebound bounced upward, and Steckel tipped the puck before Bradley whisked it into the net.

Washington improved to 8-5-3 under Boudreau, who took over for the fired Glen Hanlon on Thanksgiving.

Vincent Lecavalier scored both Tampa Bay goals. The Lightning have lost five of six and are an NHL-worst 3-13-1 on the road.

Playing in his 200th NHL game, Alexander Ovechkin received an assist on Washington’s second goal. He ranks fifth on the Capitals’ career list with 240 points, including 123 goals.

Lecavalier opened the scoring at 5:43 of the first period, putting in his own rebound of a shot he initially took from the right circle.

Midway through the period, Ramo made several spectacular saves with Washington on the power play. Steckel tied it late in the period, however, stuffing in a rebound of his own shot after Ramo left the puck exposed in the crease.

Lecavalier put Tampa Bay back on top midway through the second period, breaking free in the Capitals’ zone and beating Olaf Kolzig with a wrist shot from the left circle.

Brian Pothier made it 2-all late in the period with a slap shot from behind the right circle.

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