policy, however, saying the voluntary enrollment in SABH c

OTTAWA Youth Matthew Tkachuk Jersey , Ontario (AP) — Once a victory seemed likely, the Washington Capitals put their focus into finishing a memorable night for backup goalie Pheonix Copley.Copley made 35 saves for his first career shutout and the Capitals beat the Ottawa Senators 4-0 on Saturday night.Brett Connolly had a goal and an assist to give Copley all the support he needed.“We talked about (the shutout) between the second and third,” said Connolly. “It’s good to see him get that shutout. It’s obviously a big moment for him and he’s played so well this season.”Matt Niskanen, Jakub Vrana and Michal Kempny also scored for the Capitals (22-10-3). Washington is 7-1-0 in its past eight games and has scored at least four goals in 10 of its past 13.Mike McKenna stopped 29 shots in place of the injured Craig Anderson.Copley is the first rookie goalie to blank the Senators since James Reimer in 2011.“The guys did a great job blocking shots and denying them great chances,” said Copley. “It was a real good team win.”The score was hardly flattering to the Senators, but coach Guy Boucher wasn’t too disappointed by the effort.“It wasn’t a 4-0 game, that’s for sure,” Boucher said. “We played really well and had so many scoring chances and their goalie stoned us.”Washington took a 3-0 lead midway through the second when Vrana stole the puck from Mark Stone and beat McKenna with a flashy move. Kempny made it 4-0 at the 13-minute mark when his point shot deflected off Cody Ceci.The Senators trailed 2-0 after the first period, but it could have been more if it wasn’t for McKenna.Connolly opened the scoring at 1:32 when he redirected Jonas Siegenthaler’s point shot.“When we’re ahead in games we’re definitely better,” Connolly said. “We know when we’re behind we have a lot of guys that can hurt you as well Michael Frolik Jersey , but when we get the first one we settle in and definitely on a back-to-back it makes it easier so it was good to get that first one.”McKenna made impressive glove saves on Andre Burakovsky and Travis Boyd. Bobby Ryan also stopped a sure goal when McKenna was caught out of position.The Capitals took a two-goal lead late in the period when Niskanen got behind Ceci and tipped Nicklas Backstrom’s pass for his fifth of the season.NOTES: With Anderson dealing with an upper-body injury, Marcus Hogberg was recalled from the American Hockey League’s Belleville Senators. … The Senators honored LPGA golfer and Smiths Falls, Ontario, native Brooke Henderson prior to the game and had her drop the puck. … Ottawa’s Tom Pyatt and Max Lajoie were healthy scratches. … Washington’s Tyler Lewington made his NHL debut Saturday night.UP NEXTCapitals: Host Carolina on Thursday night.Senators: Play at the New York Islanders on Friday night. An unnamed NHL player for a Western Conference team said he uses a marijuana vape pen after games to help him fall asleep.On Thursday, Emily Kaplan of ESPN.com provided comments from "Player X" about his legal use of marijuana, which doesn't put him at any risk of NHL punishment."Just to relax," the player explained about his weed use. "Honestly, it's the easiest and most natural way for me to fall asleep and be ready for the next day."He added: "I think it comes down to this鈥攚e are elite athletes and as long as it's not performance-enhancing or illegal, we know what's best for our own bodies. I find that a couple hits of weed at night is good for me. It's legal, it's natural Authentic Mikael Backlund Jersey , I don't see anything wrong with it."The NHL does test for marijuana as part of its screening for substances of abuse and a player who tests positive for "abnormally high levels" of THC, the chief active ingredient of cannabis, can be contacted by leaders of the league's Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health (SABH) program, per Kaplan.Dr. Dave Lewis and Dr. Brian Shaw of SABH will offer treatment, but the player can decline to enter the program and won't be punished by the league for the test results or his decision to turn down the offer."The thing that we're really looking for is if there's a guy that has an issue or a problem and he needs help鈥攖hat's what we're trying to capture in that program," NHLPA executive Mathieu Schneider told Kaplan. "I do think it has worked very well. We have a tremendous amount of faith in the doctors that run the program. Confidentiality in that program is of the utmost importance."In October, Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid said the NHL should look into research about substances like cannabidiol (CBD) oil for its pain-relieve uses, perStephen Whynoof the Associated Press."I say this more talking about the CBD side of it, obviously: You'd be stupid not to at least look into it," McDavid said. "When your body's sore like it is sometimes Mike Smith Jersey , you don't want to be taking pain stuff and taking Advil all the time. There's obviously better ways to do it."So far, 33 states in the U.S. havepassed lawsgoverning the use of marijuana, including 10 allowing for the legal recreational use of the drug. Canada, the home of seven of the NHL's 31 teams, fullylegalizedweed in June 2018.One agent raised concerns to Kaplan about the NHL's policy, however, saying the voluntary enrollment in SABH could lead to bigger issues for other drugs, such as cocaine and prescription pills:"It hurts to say this, because I am always on the players' side and advocating for players, and I would never advocate for a situation for a team to increase the ability to discipline a player Sean Monahan Jersey , but there are a lot of players who act recklessly. I think cocaine is still a huge problem in the league. I think there are other drugs that players are abusing. If it was known the league was testing and punishing for cocaine, levels of Ambien, Adderall and a whole list of other list of drugs that get abused, I think you would naturally have players cutting down on it. Unless players face a suspension or loss of pay, what would get their attention?"Yet, if a player does enter SABH for treatment, they can receive a fine, suspension or other penalty "if conditions are breached" during the process.