Tampa, FL  - Eric Fehr scored twice and the Washington Capitals held off the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-3, on Thursday.

Troy Brouwer and Jay Beagle each scored, while Mathieu Perreault added three assists for the Capitals, who have won three straight. Braden Holtby stopped 27 shots in the win.

"We had some really good shifts out there tonight," said Beagle. "We're all starting to click together out there and are starting to feel the system that coach wants from us."

Martin St. Louis had a goal and an assist, while Teddy Purcell and Nate Thompson also scored for the Lightning, who are in the midst of a six-game losing streak. Mathieu Garon gave up all four goals on 39 shots in the loss.

"What I find hard about this is that our guys worked really hard out there tonight," said Tampa Bay head coach Guy Boucher. "I felt sorry for the guys because they kept working and working at it, we just ran out of time."

Washington held a 4-1 lead in the third, but the Lightning cut their deficit to two at the 12:02 mark when Purcell put the puck in the net for his third goal of the season.

Tampa then made it a one-goal game with 3:13 to play as St. Louis sprung Thompson for a breakaway. Holtby came out of the net in an effort to play the puck, but Thompson moved around him and deposited a backhand into the open net.

That was as close as it got, though, as Washington was able to hold off a furious attack which included Tampa skating with an extra skater after pulling Garon in the final minute.

Washington struck just 2:40 in on a power play when Brouwer one-timed a shot from the slot off a Perreault feed for an early 1-0 lead.

Tampa answered six minutes later on a rush into the Washington end that saw St. Louis bang the loose puck in from the right for his fourth of the year.

The Caps took the lead back at the 5:09 mark of the second frame as Joel Ward stole the puck behind the net and centered it with Fehr eventually putting it in for a 2-1 lead.

It was Fehr lighting the lamp again when his big slap shot from the right wing gave the team a 3-1 advantage just 2:22 into the third.

Washington gave itself a 4-1 lead just over five minutes later during a scrum in front of the net that Beagle punched in for his first of the season.

Kansas City, MO - The Kansas City Royals acquired infielder Elliott Johnson from the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday as the player to be named later in the offseason trade that sent standout pitcher James Shields to Kansas City.

Johnson had been designated for assignment by the Rays last week. The 28-year- old switch-hitter batted .242 with six homers, 33 RBI and 18 stolen bases over 123 games last season, while starting 68 contests at shortstop.

A member of the Tampa Bay organization since 2002, Johnson hit .223 with 10 homers and 24 steals over 200 total games spanning three major league seasons with the Rays.

The Rays and Royals agreed to a seven-player deal on Dec. 9 that sent Shields, who has won 31 games over the last two seasons, to Kansas City along with pitcher Wade Davis in exchange for a four-prospect package headlined by 22- year-old outfielder Wil Myers. Tampa Bay also received pitchers Jake Odorizzi and Mike Montgomery as well as minor league third baseman Patrick Leonard as part of the swap.

To make room for Johnson on the 40-man roster, the Royals placed pitcher Felipe Paulino on the 60-day disabled list. The right-hander is recovering from Tommy John surgery performed during the summer and is expected to miss the first few months of the upcoming season.

Paulino went 3-1 with a 1.67 earned run average in seven starts for Kansas City in 2012 before being shelved in June due to elbow problems.

 The 2013 NFL Free Agency period is scheduled to begin Tuesday, March 12th. Below is a listing of the top free agents, by position.

QUARTERBACKS

1. Joe Flacco, Baltimore; 2. Matt Moore, Miami; 3. Tyler Thigpen, Buffalo; 4. Brady Quinn, Kansas City; 5. Brian Hoyer, Arizona; 6. Jason Campbell, Chicago; 7. Tarvaris Jackson, Buffalo; 8. Matt Leinart, Oakland; 9. Byron Leftwich, Pittsburgh; 10. Charlie Batch, Pittsburgh

RUNNING BACKS

1. Steven Jackson, St. Louis; 2. Reggie Bush, Miami; 3. Danny Woodhead, New England; 4. Chris Ivory, New Orleans (RFA); 5. Ahmad Bradshaw, NY Giants; 6. Rashard Mendenhall, Pittsburgh; 7. Shonn Greene, NY Jets; 8. Cedric Benson, Green Bay; 9. Joique Bell, Detroit (RFA); 10. Darius Reynaud, Tennessee - kick returner

FULLBACKS

1. James Casey, Houston; 2. Jerome Felton, Minnesota; 3. Greg Jones, Jacksonville; 4. David Johnson, Pittsburgh; 5. Darrel Young, Washington (RFA)

WIDE RECEIVERS

1. Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City; 2. Victor Cruz, NY Giants (RFA); 3. Mike Wallace, Pittsburgh; 4. Greg Jennings, Green Bay; 5. Wes Welker, New England; 6. Danny Amendola, St. Louis; 7. Danario Alexander, San Diego (RFA); 8. Brian Hartline, Miami; 9. Emmanuel Sanders, Pittsburgh (RFA); 10. David Nelson, Buffalo

TIGHT ENDS

1. Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta; 2. Fred Davis, Washington; 3. Dennis Pitta, Baltimore (RFA); 4. Brandon Myers, Oakland; 5. Jared Cook, Tennessee; 6. Dustin Keller, NY Jets; 7. Martellus Bennett, NY Giants; 8. Delanie Walker, San Francisco; 9. Anthony Fasano, Miami; 10. Dallas Clark, Tampa Bay

OFFENSIVE TACKLES

1. Ryan Clady, Denver; 2. Jake Long, Miami; 3. Sebastian Vollmer, New England 4. Andre Smith, Cincinnati; 5. Phil Loadholt, Minnesota; 6. Will Beatty, NY Giants; 7. Branden Albert, Kansas City; 8. Sam Baker, Atlanta; 9. Jermon Bushrod, New Orleans; 10. Bryant McKinnie, Baltimore

OFFENSIVE GUARDS

1. Andy Levitre, Buffalo; 2. Louis Vasquez, San Diego; 3. Brandon Moore, NY Jets; 4. Kevin Boothe, NY Giants; 5. Donald Thomas, New England; 6. Ramon Foster, Pittsburgh; 7. Chad Rinehart, Buffalo; 8. Ryan Lilja, Kansas City - Announced retirement; 9. Tyronne Green, San Diego; 10. Kory Lichtensteiger, Washington

CENTERS

1. Fernando Velasco, Tennessee; 2. Brian De La Puente, New Orleans (RFA); 3. Dan Koppen, Denver; 4. Evan Dietrich-Smith, Green Bay; 5. Todd McClure, Atlanta.

DEFENSIVE ENDS

1. Michael Johnson, Cincinnati; 2. Michael Bennett, Tampa Bay; 3. Cliff Avril, Detroit; 4. Matt Shaughnessy, Oakland; 5. Israel Idonije, Chicago; 6. Osi Umenyiora, NY Giants; 7. Mike Devito, NY Jets; 8. William Hayes, St. Louis; 9. Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis; 10. Wallace Gilberry, Cincinnati

DEFENSIVE TACKLES

1. Randy Starks, Miami; 2. Aubrayo Franklin, San Diego; 3. Henry Melton, Chicago; 4. Richard Seymour, Oakland; 5. Desmond Bryant, Oakland; 6. Jason Jones, Seattle; 7. Sammie Lee Hill, Detroit; 8. Roy Miller, Tampa Bay; 9. Chris Canty, NY Giants; 10. Glenn Dorsey, Kansas City

OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS

1. Anthony Spencer, Dallas; 2. Connor Barwin, Houston; 3. Paul Kruger, Baltimore; 4. Philip Wheeler, Oakland; 5. Daryl Smith, Jacksonville; 6. Shaun Phillips, San Diego; 7. Erin Henderson, Minnesota; 8. Manny Lawson, Cincinnati; 9. Nick Barnett, Buffalo; 10. Nick Roach, Chicago

INSIDE LINEBACKERS

1. Dannell Ellerbe, Baltimore; 2. Brian Urlacher, Chicago; 3. Brad Jones, Green Bay; 4. Bradie James, Houston; 5. Larry Foote, Pittsburgh; 6. Rey Maualuga, Cincinnati; 7. Chase Blackburn, NY Giants; 8. Larry Grant, San Francisco; 9. Jasper Brinkley, Minnesota; 10. Tim Dobbins, Houston

CORNERBACKS

1. Sean Smith, Miami; 2. Aqib Talib, New England; 3. Sam Shields, Green Bay (RFA); 4. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Philadelphia; 5. Keenan Lewis, Pittsburgh; 6. Chris Houston, Detroit; 7. Adam Jones, Cincinnati; 8. Mike Jenkins, Dallas; 9. Tracy Porter, Denver; 10. Cary Williams, Baltimore

SAFETIES

1. Jairus Byrd, Buffalo; 2. Dashon Goldson, San Francisco; 3. Ed Reed, Baltimore; 4. Louis Delmas, Detroit; 5. William Moore, Atlanta; 6. Kenny Phillips, NY Giants; 7. Glover Quin, Houston; 8. LaRon Landry, NY Jets; 9. Chris Clemons, Miami; 10. Jamarca Sanford, Minnesota

KICKERS

1. Phil Dawson, Cleveland; 2. Rob Bironas, Tennessee; 3. Lawrence Tynes, NY Giants; 4. Jason Hanson, Detroit; 5. Steven Hauschka, Seattle; 6. Josh Brown, Cincinnati; 7. Shayne Graham, Houston; 8. Nate Kaeding, Miami; 9. Nick Novak, San Diego; 10. Billy Cundiff, San Francisco

PUNTERS

1. Kevin Huber, Cincinnati; 2. Britton Colquitt, Denver (RFA); 3. Dustin Colquitt, Kansas City; 4. Pat McAfee, Indianapolis; 5. Reggie Hodges, Cleveland; 6. Donnie Jones, Houston; 7. Shane Lechler, Oakland; 8. Brian Moorman, Dallas; 9. Nick Harris, Detroit; 10. Sav Rocca, Washington