WASHINGTON — Alexander Semin had two goals and two assists in his return from a wrist injury and the Washington Capitals hardly missed the suspended Alex Ovechkin, beating the Florida Panthers 6-2 on Thursday night for their fourth straight victory.

Ovechkin served the first of a two-game ban levied by the NHL following his ejection Monday for a knee-to-knee hit on the Hurricanes’ Tim Gleason. Some fans in the sellout crowd of 18,277 held signs reading “Free Alex.”

Ovechkin will be eligible to rejoin the Capitals on Monday at Tampa Bay; the Capitals are 5-1-1 this season when he’s not in the lineup.

Brendan Morrison had a goal and two assists, and Tomas Fleischmann, Matt Bradley and Nicklas Backstrom also scored for Washington.

Penguins 4, Avalanche 1

PITTSBURGH — Sidney Crosby had two goals and an assist for the Penguins, who won for the sixth time in seven games by beating the Avalanche.

Crosby scored in the first period, added an empty-net goal, and assisted on Bill Guerin’s winning tally with 12:45 left in regulation to give him 11 points in three games.

Pittsburgh has won eight of 10 and five consecutive at home to remain tied with the Washington Capitals for the most points (40) in the Eastern Conference.

T.J. Galiardi scored for the second straight game for Colorado, which has only one win in its past six and three victories in the past 13 games.