WASHINGTON - The Washington Capitals had won only once in their previous seven games, and general manager George McPhee was willing to try anything.

Riding up toward the press box on the elevator before the game, McPhee asked the elevator operator to let him off on the third floor, a few floors early.

"I've got a special box there," he said. "Whenever I sit in it, we win."

Last night, with McPhee in his lucky seat, and the Capitals playing without three top forwards - Jaromir Jagr, Peter Bondra and Dainius Zubrus - Washington surprised even its coach by beating the Calgary Flames, 4-2.

To do it, the Caps used an offensive outburst by defenseman Sergei Gonchar (two goals), a game-winning goal by Glen Metropolit and a surging performance from Michael Nylander (one goal, three assists).

"I have to be honest," said Caps coach Bruce Cassidy, when asked if he anticipated his team producing this kind of effort with his three big forwards on the sidelines. "I didn't. We've had so much trouble scoring, to get four goals without Jagr, Bondra and Zubrus in the lineup - you have to consider Jagr usually gets 25 minutes, Bondra 20 and Zubrus 20. That's an hour of ice time. It was great to see Metro and some of the others produce."

Nylander assisted on the first three Caps goals and then added a little insurance, scoring one of his own to re-establish the final two-goal advantage.

"We need to win every game," he said. "Tonight, we wanted to work hard and play smart hockey. We did that and we capitalized on our chances."

Nylander, a center, was acquired in a trade with Chicago on Nov. 1, and has 13 points in his past five games with five goals and eight assists.

Gonchar may be finding his way as well. A year ago, he was the top-goal-scoring defenseman in the NHL. He's been a slow starter this season, but he doubled his season goal total after last night.

"I am trying to relax and shoot the puck as much as possible," he said. "We knew that if we let them score first it would be tough for us.

Before the game, Jagr was scratched with a groin problem. Zubrus, whose hand was injured by a slash in Toronto on Tuesday, also was scratched and Bondra was placed on injured reserve with back spasms retroactive to Nov. 21. All three are day-to-day, including Bondra, who will be eligible to return tomorrow night against Ottawa.

Caps goalie Olie Kolzig (32 saves) was ready for Jarome Iginla, who led the league in goal scoring last season. Iginla attacked Kolzig one-on-one twice in the first two periods, only to be stopped cold. The Caps' big goalie allowed two goals - to Rob Niedermayer and Steve Begin. But after each, in an unusual demonstration of character, the Capitals scored to keep a two-goal advantage.