Several Capitals players end droughts in 5-3 win over Flyers

By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Chandler Stephenson, Andre Burakovsky and T.J. Oshie ended lengthy goal droughts to help the Washington Capitals rally past the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 on Wednesday night.

Stephenson scored twice after going without a goal for 28 games, Burakovsky scored on the power play after coming up empty for 10 games and Oshie lifted his arms and looked to the sky when he scored on the power-play to end his 13-game dry spell. Devante Smith-Pelly scored Washington's fifth goal on 20 shots to chase Philadelphia starter Michal Neuvirth midway through the third period of a game the Capitals trailed 2-0 after one.

Braden Holtby stopped 27 of the 30 shots, including an important glove save early on Travis Konecny and several saves against Flyers captain Claude Giroux. The Capitals avoided what would have been their first four-game home losing streak since 2010 on the heels of their NHL-best 10-game home winning streak that ended Jan 11.

No. 2 pick Nolan Patrick, Konecny and Jakub Voracek scored for Philadelphia. Alex Lyon made his NHL debut in relief of Neuvirth, stopping five shots in preparation for what could be his first start Thursday at New Jersey.

The Flyers got off to a hot start when Patrick made the most of his promotion to second-line center by scoring on a 2-on-1 rush with Wayne Simmonds just 1:18 in. Holtby robbed Konecny on another rush, but the young forward scored to make it 2-0 at 7:50 as he followed up Sean Couturier's initial shot.

As much as Philadelphia dominated the first period, Washington took over in the second, starting with a mistake by Neuvirth when he lost the puck under him. Stephenson poked it in to get the Capitals on the board and scored on a breakaway 47 seconds later to tie it at 2.

Stephenson's two goals in under a minute came after he scored two in his first 36 games this season.

With Flyers defenseman Andrew MacDonald in the penalty box for slashing, Lars Eller won a faceoff and a puck battle before directing it on net for Burakovsky's first power-play goal of the season 14:32 into the second to give the Capitals the lead. It was all Capitals from there, though Flyers fans filled the arena with "E-A-G-L-E-S" chants days before the Super Bowl.

NOTES: Smith-Pelly replaced healthy scratch Jakub Vrana, who has one point in 13 games. Smith-Pelly's goal was his first since Jan. 2. ... Patrick had his first career multipoint game. ... Neuvirth and Lyon were Philadelphia's goaltending tandem because Brian Elliott is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.

UP NEXT

Flyers: Visit the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.

Capitals: Visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night.

---

Follow Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno

---

For more NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

Ovechkin scores 30th, helps Capitals snap 3-game skid

By PAUL GEREFFI
Associated Press

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) – The Washington Capitals are going into the All-Star break on a winning note - thanks in large part to Alex Ovechkin.

The All-Star left wing scored his 30th goal of the season and got his 500th career assist to help the Capitals snap a three-game skid with a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.

"It puts a smile on everybody's face," coach Barry Trotz said of the victory. "It makes the break a little bit better."

Ovechkin is the sixth player in NHL history with at least 30 goals in 13 or more consecutive seasons at any point in his career.

"He's a legendary player. He's getting the points, the goals, the assists," Trotz said. "Getting 500 assists, there's not too many guys in this league that have as many goals and as many assists, and he's still got a lot of years left. So those numbers are just going to continue to grow."

Ovechkin's assist on the Capitals' first goal was his 500th. Ovechkin is the 15th active player in NHL history to reach that mark, and the second in Capitals history. Nicklas Backstrom has 568 assists.

"It's a pretty big number," Ovechkin said. "Any time you reach something, it's pretty cool."

Brett Connolly, John Carlson and Backstrom also scored for the Capitals. Braden Holtby stopped 32 shots.

"It was nice to see us battle back," Backstrom said. "When you've been losing three games, it's always nice to get on the winning track again."

Denis Malgin scored both goals for Florida, which has lost three straight. Harri Sateri made 42 saves in his second NHL start.

"It's frustrating for everybody," Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. "It's never fun losing and we're battling some adversity with our goaltenders out. We can get some rest over the next couple days and come back fresher."

Carlson gave the Capitals their first lead when he one-timed the puck over Sateri with 2:22 left in the second to make the score 3-2.

Connolly stretched the lead to 4-2 on his power-play goal 1:52 into the third. Connolly has four goals in his past five games.

The Panthers killed off a 5-on-3 for a full two minutes early in the third period, with Sateri blocking seven shots.

"He held his own," Boughner said. "It's tough. We've got to get more scoring for him."

Malgin's second goal put the Panthers ahead 2-1 at 6:40 of the second. Malgin bounced the puck off the post and into the net on Holtby's stick side from the left side of the crease.

"We have to get every point, we can," Malgin said. "Today it didn't happen. I scored twice, but we lost. That's not good."

Ovechkin tied it at 2 when he tipped a shot by Brooks Orpik in the low slot and into the net at 7:51 of the second.

Malgin gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 11:02 of the first when his shot from the high slot beat Holtby.

The Capitals tied it a 1 on a power-play goal by Backstrom, who redirected a pass from Evgeny Kuznetsov past Sateri on the stick side.

NOTES: Backstrom's goal moved him into fifth place on the Capitals' career list with 198. ... Kuznetsov left in the third period with a lower-body injury and did not return. ... Panthers G James Reimer is expected to miss at least two weeks with a pulled groin. ... D Keith Yandle played in his 680th consecutive game, passing Henrik Sedin (679) for sole possession of seventh place. ... Panthers F Jamie McGinn left in the second period with an upper-body injury and did not return. ... Panthers D Ian McCoshen has been loaned to AHL Springfield.

UP NEXT:

Capitals: Host Philadelphia Flyers next Wednesday.

Panthers: Visit New York Islanders on Tuesday.

Hall's overtime goal gives Devils 4-3 win over Capitals

By TOM CANAVAN
AP Sports Writer

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- For a game, the New Jersey Devils finally showed they could play with the Washington Capitals and beat them.

Taylor Hall scored on a breakaway 34 seconds into overtime and the Devils beat the Capitals 4-3 on Thursday night for only their second win against Washington in the last 14 games.

"That was a challenge for us tonight," Hall said. "Sometimes against teams, you get it in your head that Washington has been such a strong team for some many years that you almost respect them too much. It's about time as a group that we stop worrying about the other team and just come out and play our game."

The win pulled the surprising Devils to within four points of first place Washington in the Metropolitan Division. New Jersey, which finished last in the Eastern Conference last season, has played two fewer games.

Washington had beaten the Devils by 5-2 margins in two earlier games this season.

"The first two times we played them, we didn't play well at all," said Devils captain Andy Greene, who scored his first goal in 27 games. "They really took it to us. Obviously, we came in tonight with a little on our side with them coming off the bye week. It was important for us to set the tone of the game. We came up with some big kills. We just needed to finish it off in regulation, but it took 34 seconds later."

Sami Vatanen collected his third assist of the game on the winning goal, a shot over the shoulder of goaltender Braden Holtby.

"That angle with Hall's speed on the last one, there are so many options - you pick one and hope you get it right," said Holtby, who finished with 28 saves.

Drew Stafford and Miles Wood also scored for the Devils, who have won two straight after a six-game winless streak (0-3-3). Keith Kinkaid had 16 saves and the Devils killed off all five Washington power plays.

Brett Connolly scored twice and Dmitry Orlov had a goal for the Capitals, who lost for only the second time in eight games.

"It took us a while, but considering - how many days off did we have? - getting a point on the road in this building against a team that is chasing us, we'll take that point," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. "You obviously would like to have two but overall we'll take the point for sure."

Coming off a midseason break, the Capitals struggled to find their skating legs and didn't pick up their game until the third period.

Connolly eventually tied it with 3:48 left in regulation beating a screened Kinkaid after taking a pass from Evgeny Kuznetsov.

The Devils had taken leads of 1-0 and 3-1 midway through the second period before Washington rallied.

Fourteen seconds after Wood scored on a breakaway to give New Jersey a two-goal lead, Orlov ripped a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle past Kinkaid.

Greene had given the Devils a 2-1 lead 3:33 into the second period, beating Holtby in close on a counter attack.

Former Capital Marcus Johansson made a nice pass to send Stafford on a breakaway and he beat Holtby with a backhander at 8:01 of the first period. It was his second goal in three games after being a healthy scratch for seven straight.

Connolly tied it a little more than four minutes later, firing a puck into an open net after Lars Eller redirected T.J. Oshie's pass to the other side of the net.

NOTES: Vatanen played in his 300th NHL game. His three assists gave him 102 in his career. ... Hall has points in six straight (five goals, six assists) ... Washington's Tom Wilson and New Jersey's Brian Boyle had a second-period fight. ... New Jersey D Mirco Mueller, who fractured a collarbone on Nov. 13, was sent to Binghamton of the AHL for conditioning.

UP NEXT:

Capitals: Host Montreal Friday.

Devils: at Philadelphia on Saturday.

Washington Capitals, NHL and adidas Unveil 2018 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series Jersey

WASHINGTON D.C. – The Washington Capitals, the National Hockey League (NHL®) and adidas today unveiled the new adidas ADIZERO Authentic NHL jersey and pants the team will wear in the 2018 Coors Light NHLStadium Series™. Specifically designed for this game, the special edition uniforms will make their on-ice debut when the Capitals take on the Toronto Maple Leafs outdoors at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, home of the NCAA Division I, Navy Midshipmen, in Annapolis, Md. on Mar. 3 (8 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, TVAS).

Inspired by the Capitals’ classic identity and fused with the most advanced uniform technologies available in the new adidas adizero Authentic NHL uniforms, the special edition Washington Capitals’ 2018 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series™ uniform is a salute to the game’s locale – Annapolis, MD. Marking the first time in Capitals history the team will wear a navy-blue uniform, the overall design aesthetic pays homage to the U.S. Navy and highlights key elements of the Capitals’ identity. Each element of the Capitals’ visual identity has been emphasized to create bolder, more visually pronounced uniforms that are meant to make a statement and be more recognizable in the larger outdoor stadium setting.

The Capitals’ special edition crest design centers around the team’s informal nickname, CAPS™, and is stylistically aligned to the team’s current wordmark. Additionally, the crest incorporates the three stars from the team’s primary moniker, which also honors the Washington, D.C. city flag. The pants feature a new contemporary "W" with three stars of the city flag, which also serves as a subtle nod to the Washington monument.

Additional design details include a bolder one-color version of the Capitals’ numbers for better visibility in the outdoor stadium setting. As a historic tribute to team’s hometown, the numbers are accentuated with a perforated pattern based on Pierre L’Enfant's original grid plan for the city of Washington, D.C. A strong white shoulder yoke serves as a nod to the classic stars & stripes from the clubs’ past uniforms and the thick red stripes and hem stripes evoke thoughts of the city flag of Washington D.C. To complete the look, the jerseys are donned with a special edition 2018 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series™ patch on the right shoulder of the jersey.

At the forefront of innovation, design and craftsmanship, the adidas adizero Authentic jersey takes the hockey jersey silhouette to the next level by redefining fit, feel and lightweight construction. The adidas adizero Authentic jersey is lighter, cooler and stronger, featuring adizero lightweight cresting and twill numbers, adidas Clima® technology and Aeroknit detailing, the platinum NHL Shield and an interior fight strap.

Hurricanes beat Capitals on day sale to Dundon is finalized

By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- On a historically significant day for the franchise, the Carolina Hurricanes picked up an important regulation victory that helped them move up the standings.

Victor Rask scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and Scott Darling made 26 saves as the Hurricanes beat the Metropolitan Division-leading Washington Capitals 3-1 on Thursday night, hours after the team's sale to Dallas billionaire Tom Dundon was finalized. The two points helped Carolina leapfrog the idle Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins to move into a playoff position after 43 games.

"Two points in regulation is the only way you can really make up any ground," coach Bill Peters said. "You better make hay when the sun shines, and it was a nice day here in Washington today."

It'll be an even nicer day Friday in Raleigh when Dundon, Commissioner Gary Bettman and previous majority owner Peter Karmanos discuss the sale that should at least temporarily quiet relocation speculation. The NHL on Thursday announced Dundon had completed his purchase of the Hurricanes, who are expected to stay put for the foreseeable future.

"It's exciting," said Darling, who won for the first time since Dec. 16 in a rare start. "We all had a chance to meet him. He seems like a great guy. He has a lot of big plans, and we're excited to see it all unfold."

Co-captain Jordan Staal scored a short-handed goal and Sebastian Aho added an empty-netter for Carolina, which improved to 9-7-8 in one-goal games. Winger Justin Williams, who left Washington after two seasons, said the difference between the first-place Capitals and the Hurricanes was the disparity in their performances in tight games.

The Capitals fell to 12-3-3 in one-goal games and had their five-game winning streak and league-best 10-game home winning streak snapped. Players were unhappy that Rask's goal came after they thought defenseman Brooks Orpik touched the puck to stop play on a delayed penalty call.

"That one we all thought was a clear play on the puck," Orpik said. "We all were confused by it and frustrated by it, especially when that winds up being the winning goal."

Lars Eller scored for the third consecutive game and Braden Holtby made 30 saves for Washington, which lost at home for the first time since Nov. 30.

"They had been on a pretty good run here at home, and they're a tough team to play against," Aho said. "But so are we."

Outshooting and beating the Capitals was an important statement for the Hurricanes, who are seeking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2009 and end what is the longest active in the NHL. Finding some consistency against a division opponent is a good way to continue on that path.

"It's good for our confidence, good for our confidence in our system," said Darling, who felt comfortable all night and stopped Alex Ovechkin late to preserve the victory. "When we play the right way, we're not going to win 6-1. It's going to be close games, and that's the kind of team we are. If we do the right things, we're going to get the advantage on the one-goal games."

NOTES: Peters said Hurricanes C Derek Ryan was fine after taking a high hit from Tom Wilson that led to the delayed penalty in the third period. Peters figured Ryan was going through concussion protocol and didn't have enough time to return. ... Hurricanes D Brett Pesce was a surprise scratch with an upper-body injury. Pesce took a spill while trying to take a slap shot during the morning skate, and Peters said he'll be re-evaluated back home Friday. ... Staal's 34 short-handed points are one shy of Matt Cullen for the most among active players. .... Only four teams have allowed more short-handed goals this season than Washington's six. ... Capitals F Andre Burakovsky was a late scratch with an illness. Coach Barry Trotz said Burakovsky wasn't traveling with the team to Carolina.

UP NEXT

The Hurricanes host the Capitals on Friday night in the second half of the home-and-home series. It's their third meeting in 10 days.

Capitals beat Canucks to win NHL-best 10th in a row at home

By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Philipp Grubauer conserved his energy during a lull of a second period and needed every bit of it in the third to keep the Washington Capitals' streaks alive.

Grubauer made 20 of his 37 saves in the third period to help the Capitals beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 on Tuesday night for their fifth consecutive victory and NHL-best 10th in a row at home. Washington's backup goaltender picked up his third win of the season and had only one regret afterward: not shooting at the empty net to try to score.

"I'm not looking to score a goal, but I had so much time and I should have shot it," Grubauer said. "I wanted to maybe play it safe, (which) is the right thing to do."

The Capitals did a lot of things right to hand the Canucks their fifth consecutive loss. John Carlson, Lars Eller and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored against Vancouver goalie Jacob Markstrom, who stopped 33 of the 36 shots he faced and 17 of 18 in the second to keep his team in the game.

"The game should have been over after the second. We were so bad," captain Henrik Sedin said. "If he wouldn't have been there, it wouldn't have been a game. He gave us a chance to at least play in the third and come back."

Daniel Sedin scored the Canucks' only goal on a 5-on-3 power play. Vancouver has gone 2-11-2 in its past 15 games to go from third in the Pacific Division to 14th in the 15-team Western Conference.

Washington is on the opposite track, now leading the Metropolitan Division by four points. Tuesday's effort wasn't the sharpest, but the Capitals again found a way to pick up two points.

"Has this game been our best of the year? I don't know," Eller said. "Definitely this stretch has been our best of the year."

The Capitals haven't lost at home since Nov. 30 and are 18-2-0 in their past 20 games in Washington.

"I don't if it's just being comfortable or not, but hopefully it's something that we can bring on the road with us," Capitals winger Devante Smith-Pelly said.

Smith-Pelly was responsible for the most tension of the night when he fought Canucks defenseman Ben Hutton after a late hit on Brooks Orpik. Smith-Pelly called it "unnecessary" more than dirty, and Hutton didn't mind dropping the gloves.

"I knew I had to answer the bell," Hutton said. "We fought, and he said thanks in the box for stepping up. It's just another hockey play."

Grubauer took care of the rest with his glove and blocker, taking care of the few shots the Canucks got from high-quality areas. Despite seeing just four shots on net in the second period, Grubauer was on his game in the third when the momentum easily could have shifted.

"It's a little bit challenging because you've got to stay mentally more into the game," Grubauer said. "I was saving my energy for the last (period) there, and I think we kept it really simple there and got the win."

NOTES: Linesman Greg Devorski left with an illness, and the game finished with one linesman and two referees. ... Capitals F Chandler Stephenson returned to the lineup, replacing Alex Chiasson. ... Canucks D Derrick Pouliot was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. Coach Travis Green said Pouliot's game had slipped recently.

UP NEXT

Canucks: Make their fourth stop on a five-game trip before the bye week when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.

Capitals: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday to start a back-to-back home-and-home series.

NHL announces Head coaches for NHL All-Star Game

NEW YORK – The National Hockey League announced today that Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning (Atlantic), Peter Laviolette of the Nashville Predators (Central), Barry Trotz of the Washington Capitals (Metropolitan) and Gerard Gallant of the Vegas Golden Knights (Pacific) will serve as the head coaches for the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend, which will be held Jan. 28-29 at Amalie Arena in Tampa.
 
Under the All-Star selection process, the head coach of the team with the highest points percentage (points earned divided by total possible points) in each of the four divisions through games of Saturday, Jan. 6 – the halfway point of the regular season – will guide the respective All-Star rosters.

Cooper’s Lightning (.744, 29-9-3) posted the top points percentage in the Atlantic Division through games of Saturday, while Laviolette's Predators (.659, 24-11-6), Trotz’ Capitals (.646, 25-13-3) and Gallant’s Golden Knights (.725, 28-10-2) similarly wrapped up the highest points percentages in the Central, Metropolitan and Pacific Divisions, respectively.

Cooper, Laviolette, Trotz and Gallant join Lightning forward Steven Stamkos (Atlantic), Predators defenseman P.K. Subban (Central), Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin (Metropolitan) and Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (Pacific), who were voted by fans as captains for the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend.

For the third straight season, the All-Star Game will feature a three-game tournament, played in a 3-on-3 format, showcasing teams from each NHL division. Each of the four teams will include six forwards, three defensemen and two goaltenders.

The remaining 40 All-Stars, determined by the NHL’s Hockey Operations Department, will be announced Wednesday, Jan. 10.

The Lightning, who are celebrating their 25th season, and the city of Tampa will host the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend. The League’s midseason showcase will take place at Amalie Arena and will include the 2018 NHL All-Star Skills Competition on Saturday, Jan. 27 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS) and 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Sunday, Jan. 28 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS).

Ovechkin's 2nd goal leads Capitals past Hurricanes 5-4 in OT

By JOEDY McCREARY
AP Sports Writer

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- The Washington Capitals felt they gave away two goals. Alex Ovechkin got them right back when it mattered most.

Ovechkin scored his NHL-leading 26th goal 1:57 into overtime and the Capitals beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 on Tuesday night for their third straight win.

"It's almost like whenever he decides to end it, he can just go do it," linemate Devante Smith-Pelly said.

Ovechkin also tied it with 7:15 left in regulation, with Nicklas Backstrom assisting on both goals. Alex Chiasson, Smith-Pelly and Dmitry Orlov each scored for the Capitals, who went to overtime for the sixth time in eight games and have won four of those.

Teuvo Teravainen and Elias Lindholm scored in the third period, and Victor Rask had two goals for the Hurricanes, who trailed by two midway through the second. They rallied to take a short-lived lead midway through the third before Ovechkin struck twice to snap their six-game home winning streak.

After Sebastian Aho hit the post in OT for Carolina, Ovechkin headed the other way and fired a shot from the right circle that beat Cam Ward to end it.

"If we're sitting here and (Aho's shot) goes in, it's a whole different situation," Carolina coach Bill Peters said. "But it didn't, and then Ovie made a good play, and that's what he does, right?"

Ovechkin tied it at 4 by beating Ward with a slick backhand.

Ward made 21 saves for the Hurricanes, who turned a one-goal deficit into a lead in bang-bang fashion.

Lindholm tied it with 14:20 left on a snap shot from between the circles. Aho's forecheck started the sequence that ended with a shot by Teravainen that caromed off the back boards, off the stick of Washington defenseman Brooks Orpik and into the net with 12:53 remaining.

The game's first goal came after Washington defenseman John Carlson gave the puck away in front of goalie Braden Holtby, and Rask cashed in.

"I think the response was there," Ovechkin said. "I think everybody kind of took it to the next level in their game. (The thinking was) we don't deserve to lose the points. At least if we lose in overtime or the shootout, it's one thing, but we were leading the whole game and it was kind of a lucky bounce off Brooks' stick. It was a good response, and we finished it up in overtime."

Holtby stopped 34 shots for the Capitals, who turned their early self-inflicted deficit into a two-goal lead midway through the second.

Chiasson tied it 78 seconds after Rask's goal, off a slick backdoor feed from Chandler Stephenson. Smith-Pelly put Washington up 2-1 with 7:07 left in the first on a snap shot from the circle that beat Ward stick side.

Orlov made it 3-1 with 11:12 left in the second when he chased down his rebound and poked it past Ward.

NOTES: Carolina C Lucas Wallmark went to the dressing room with an injury midway through the third. Peters said he didn't have an update. ... Washington D Matt Niskanen (upper body injury) didn't make the trip. ... This was the first of three meetings between the teams during an 11-day span. The division rivals play only once more after that, on March 30 in Washington.

UP NEXT

Capitals: Host the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.

Hurricanes: Begin a four-game road trip Thursday night at Pittsburgh.

Capitals beat Devils to take lead in Metropolitan Division

By RICH DUBROFF
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) – Washington Capitals coach Barry Trotz didn't know that his team had just overtaken the New Jersey Devils to move atop the Metropolitan Division.

Sure, the season isn't quite halfway over, but the Capitals' 5-2 win over the Devils on Saturday night ensured that they'd end 2017 in first place.

Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson had a goal and two assists each, Alex Ovechkin had three assists.

"To me, it's about playing well," Trotz said. "I just want to want to get into the dance playing well. There's so much parity in this league."

Braden Holtby stopped 25 shots as Washington won its eighth straight home game. Christian Djoos had a goal and an assist, and Tom Wilson and Matt Niskanen also scored for the Capitals.

New Jersey had gone eight games without a regulation loss. John Moore scored late in the first period and Travis Zajac midway through the third. Cory Schneider stopped 30 shots.

"They came out the first 10 minutes of the game, playing to win, and we didn't," Devils coach John Hynes said. "This was a big game. You can see Washington came to play. It was important to them, and it was important to us. They were the better team tonight."

While Trotz professed not to study the standings, his players knew the significance of the game.

"I think any game is big right now the way the division is shaking out," Carlson said. "You've got to collect them while you can, certainly against teams like this when we're home and rested and they're playing on a back-to-back and on the road."

On Friday night, New Jersey lost in overtime at home after five straight wins. The game against the Capitals was the Devils' first of four consecutive road games.

Marcus Johansson played in his first game as a visitor in Washington after seven seasons with the Capitals and assisted on both goals.

Wilson got the game's first goal, his sixth of the season, beating Schneider at 2:26 in the first period. Djoos gave the Capitals a 2-0 lead at 11:09. It was Djoos' third goal this season and his first since Oct. 21.

"That's where we want to be," Djoos said of his team taking the division lead. "It shows that we can play against them and win."

After Moore's goal, Carlson's fourth at 7:01 of the second made it 3-1. Niskanen added his third goal of the season at 4:25 of the third. Backstrom added his eighth goal, an empty-netter, in the game's final minute.

The win was Washington coach Barry Trotz's 737th. He's now in fifth place on the career list, passing Lindy Ruff.

"I've lost my hair. I've turned gray. I've gotten old," Trotz said.

Trotz, who is in his fourth season coaching Washington after spending 15 seasons with Nashville, feels fortunate to have lasted so long.

"My first year, I just wanted to get through the whole season and not get let go," Trotz said. "I'm blessed to be standing here, a lot older."

NOTES: Johansson was applauded by the crowd after a video tribute in the first period. "It feels a little weird," he said before the game. "It's going to be a fun one and a special one for me, and I think something I'm going to remember for a while afterwards." ... Washington F Andre Burakovsky was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. ... The Devils acquired G Eddie Lack from Calgary for D Dalton Prout. Lack will report to Binghamton of the AHL.

UP NEXT

Devils: Visit St. Louis on Tuesday night.

Capitals: Visit Carolina on Tuesday night.

Burakovsky's OT goal gives Caps victory over Stars

DALLAS -- The Washington Capitals are starting a four-game road trip, and what better way to kick that off than with a dramatic 4-3 overtime win over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night at American Airlines Center?

Andre Burakovsky had two goals and an assist, capping his impressive evening with his second goal of the game 1:51 into overtime. He beat Ben Bishop, who stopped 24 shots, far post on a wrister from the slot.

Burakovsky's third goal of the season clinched the Capitals' 11th win in their past 13 games.

"I just felt really good in the morning skate this morning and in the warmup," Burakovsky said. "I had a really good feeling going into this game. I like the players, good atmosphere. It's a fast type of hockey; that's what I like. Lot of skating. It's the type of game I like."

Brett Connolly, who also had an assist, and Dmitry Orlov scored for Washington (22-12-1), which also got two assists from Lars Eller.

Jamie Benn, Gemel Smith and Alexander Radulov scored for the Stars (18-14-3).

"You're never OK with losing," Stars defenseman Dan Hamhuis said. "You want to find a way to get the two points, especially with a lead with four or five minutes to go in the game. You want to be able to close those ones out."

Burakovsky put Washington on the board off the rush with 9:25 remaining in the first period. Burakovsky received a cross-ice pass from Connolly in the right circle and quickly beat Bishop far post on a well-placed wrist shot.

"It was nice to see (Burakovsky) get back on the goal-scoring chart. It was good to get him a couple, and I thought we just got contributions through the whole lineup, which was really good," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said.

Dallas tied it on a power play with 4:46 remaining in the opening period when Benn scored his 14th goal of the season on a redirect. Benn deflected John Klingberg's wrist shot from the high slot.

The Stars nearly took a 2-1 lead 1:57 into the second period on an apparent goal by Radulov. However, a review determined an official blew the play dead prior to the puck crossing the line.

Dallas took its first lead with 8:51 remaining in the second period when Smith scored his fourth goal of the season by collecting his own rebound. Braden Holtby, who stopped 33 shots, denied Smith's initial shot, but Smith remained in the play and buried the rebound.

It was Holtby's first career win in five starts in Dallas.

"Yes, obviously it was a gutsy win on our part. It feels nice to win in this building finally against that team," Holtby said. "They're a good team. They create a lot of chances."

Washington tied it with 6:48 remaining in the second when Orlov scored his fourth goal of the season. After receiving the puck inside the neutral zone, Orlov displayed some dazzling stick-handling to shake Klingberg inside the right circle before beating Bishop on a wrist shot for the equalizer.

"I was like everybody else, (saying) holy you-know-what," Trotz said of Orlov's tally. "That one had the wow factor. I thought (Orlov) played exceptionally well all game."

Radulov gave Dallas a 3-2 lead with his 12th goal of the season, on a low wrist shot from the slot with 4:07 remaining in regulation. However, that lead stood for all of 41 seconds before Connolly netted the equalizer on a wrist shot from the slot.

"The third goal shouldn't have gone in," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We got beat on the boards three times. Puck was in the net because of it.

"We didn't have awareness away from the puck. We had earned the right to finish the game off strong. We got beat off the boards twice and he made a play. Game over."

The Capitals are now 8-7-1 on the road.

"Yeah, it was a fast game. I thought both teams did a lot of good things," Trotz said. "They're a good hockey team. I thought we handled a lot of their skill people quite well and we had a good response. We had a good response all game."

NOTES: The Capitals scratched D Taylor Chorney and RW Devante Smith-Pelly. The Stars scratched RW Brett Ritchie. ... Capitals RW TJ Oshie returned after missing the previous six games with a concussion. ... The Stars traded D Jamie Oleksiak to Pittsburgh for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. ... Capitals RW Alex Chiasson and D Matt Niskanen are both former Stars.

Stars look to cool Capitals

Stats, LLC

DALLAS -- After going 2-1-1 in their Eastern Conference road trip, the Dallas Stars get little respite as they return home to oppose the sizzling Washington Capitals on Tuesday at American Airlines Center.

"Yeah, they're a good team, obviously," Stars goalie Ben Bishop said of the Capitals following practice on Monday. "They've won 10 of 12, so they're feeling it right now. It's just going to be a matter of staying disciplined in our systems and with penalties. That's a very dangerous power play, so you don't want to be giving them any extra opportunities, so that's going to be a big thing."

Washington has the NHL's seventh-best power play, converting 20.75 percent of its opportunities, so minimizing the Capitals' chances with the extra attacker is imperative for Dallas to have a chance of prevailing Tuesday.

Dallas (18-14-2) concluded its road trip with a 2-1 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Saturday, a game in which both Flyers goals came on the power play.

The Stars have been on the penalty kill this season more than all but three other teams, but first-year coach Ken Hitchcock doesn't see his team's rash of penalties as an area of concern.

"No, it comes and goes. Always happens to younger players," Hitchcock said of the Stars' penalties. "What has happened is it's been the younger players who are learning to play in the National Hockey League, but also quite frankly is what happens when you have a poor stick. There's not many young players that have good sticks. That's a learned skill that takes time. A lot of our younger guys are learning how to do that properly."

Dallas, 10-4-0 at home and 10-0-2 in its past 12 games against the Capitals, continues to be without defenseman Marc Methot (knee).

"He's not close. He lasted 30 minutes in instructional and 10 minutes with us, so he's not ready. He's not ready to join us on a full-time basis," Hitchcock said. "He might join (the Tuesday) pregame skate, but he hasn't gotten through a practice yet, so I can't give you an exact date. He was to go a little bit longer (Monday); he didn't, he wasn't able to. We'll review it (Tuesday) and start again (Tuesday)."

Hitchcock named Bishop as the Tuesday starter in goal but declined to say which goaltender he would give the nod to in the two huge Central Division home games later in the week: Thursday against the Nashville Predators and Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks.

"Both guys (Bishop and backup Kari Lehtonen) are playing awful well right now. That's an awful good sign," Hitchcock said. "We got confidence in either guy. These are heavyweight teams that we're playing that are on real long hot streaks right now, so goaltending's going to be a major factor here if we're going to win some of these games."

The Capitals (21-12-1), who are 8-6-0 against the Western Conference, are one of the NHL's hottest teams.

Washington, which defeated the visiting Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in overtime on Saturday to start a run of four straight against West foes, figures to get a nice boost from the return of forward TJ Oshie to the lineup. He missed the previous four games due to a concussion.

"I want to get back in there and join in on some of the fun," Oshie said after practice Friday.

And if Oshie is fully recovered, Capitals coach Barry Trotz will be more than happy to welcome him back into the rotation.

"TJ's a real good player for us," Trotz said. "He's a big part of what we do, and if he healthy and ready to go, I have no problem putting him in the lineup."

Washington is 7-7-1 on the road. Tuesday's game marks the start of a four-game road trip that will also take the Capitals to Arizona, Vegas and back East to play the New York Rangers before returning home.

For whatever reason, Dallas is one place where Washington has had trouble getting wins. The Stars have earned points in their past 12 home games against the Capitals, who haven't won in regulation in Dallas since Oct. 17, 1995, when Washington won 4-3 at the Stars' former home, Reunion Arena.

Capitals stay hot, continue mastery of Bruins

BOSTON -- Having spent three years at Boston University, Alex Chiasson says he always enjoys a return to TD Garden.

On Thursday night, the Washington Capitals winger enjoyed it even more.

"Obviously it's special for me here, Boston," Chiasson said after scoring his fifth and sixth goals of the season in the third period as the Capitals posted their 11th straight victory over Boston with a 5-3 win over the Bruins.

"Every time I come here ... usually I have dinner with some friends and a college roommate. I spent three years here at BU -- three of my best years for sure in my life so far. The whole thing was great."

And these two goals came at an important time for Chiasson. With fellow right winger T.J. Oshie out for the last five games and about to come back, this was a good time for Chiasson to have a two-goal game.

"He can count," Washington coach Barry Trotz said when asked about Chiasson's big game.

The teams play the final game of their season series in Washington on Dec. 28 -- one more chance for the Bruins to end this streak.

"At some point you definitely want to get it over with and win those games," said Boston's Patrice Bergeron, who scored two goals in the loss. "It's not something necessarily that I was thinking before the game, being honest with you, and it was a back-to-back game.

"We knew it was a challenge and we had to be good and be smart. A few breakdowns and a little lack of discipline made us pay is the bottom line."

The Bruins haven't beaten the Caps since March 29, 2014.

Strangely, Boston's next game is Saturday at home against the New York Rangers, who have beaten the Bruins six straight times.

Washington earned its ninth victory in its last 11 games Thursday night.

Braden Holtby, whose first NHL win was over Boston, stopped 34 shots to raise his career record against the Bruins to 13-2-0 for the Capitals.

Holtby came in with a 1.81 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage against Boston. The Bruins have scored 14 even-strength goals in 15 lifetime games against Holtby, who is 18-7-0 overall this season -- 2-0-0 against Boston.

Rookie Jakub Vrana, Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin (empty net) also scored for Washington (20-12-1). Ovechkin, scoring his NHL-high 22nd goal, also had an assist and has 44 points in 44 career games against Boston. Matt Niskanen had two assists for the Caps.

"It's nice to get a win on the road obviously," said Holtby. "I don't think we're playing as well as we wanted to on the road, but it's good for the confidence. You know it's a little bit of improvement from Long Island (in a loss Monday night)."

Bergeron scored a power-play goal 4:22 into the second period to tie the game 1-1 for the Bruins (15-10-4), who had a three-game winning streak snapped and lost for only the third time in their last 11 games.

After Chiasson personally turned the game from 2-1 to 4-1, Boston's David Krejci tipped in Charlie McAvoy's shot with 3:40 left. Bergeron scored another power-play goal, after the empty-netter, with 26.4 seconds left.

The goal was the 16th even-strength score for Ovechkin, matching his total from last season -- in just 33 games.

Anton Khudobin, playing the second half of his team's back-to-back (Tuukka Rask won in Detroit on Wednesday), made 17 saves but suffered his second straight loss after a four-game winning streak.

"We shot a lot of pucks and some things didn't go our way," Khudobin said. "When the black cat crosses the road, it's just a black cat across the road."

Asked what the black cat meant, he said, "That mean(t) we shot it how many times, 35? Hit how many crossbars (three)? They played pretty well offensively, even that third goal, kind of puck on the backdoor, I stopped it and it just crawled over my pad. That's what it means."

Brad Marchand set up Bergeron's first goal, notching his 400th NHL point and extending his points streak to seven games (four goals, seven assists). David Pastrnak had an assist to extend his point streak to 10 contests (five goals, seven assists).

Krejci also had an assist and Danton Heinan added two for Boston.

NOTES: Boston LW Matt Beleskey, who hasn't scored a point in 24 straight games dating back to last season, was placed on waivers for the purpose of sending him to Providence. He has two years, at $3.8 million per, left on his contract. ... Washington RW T.J. Oshie missed his fifth straight game with an upper-body injury but he's close to a return. ... Bruins LW Ryan Spooner, who has missed the last four and 19 of the last 24 contests with a groin injury, dressed for warmups but didn't play, while D Kevan Miller, who missed Wednesday night's game to witness the birth of a child, was back. ... The Caps host the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday before a four-game road trip, while the Bruins are home for the New York Rangers on Saturday.

Kuznetsov, Holtby help Capitals defeat Avalanche

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals got beaten badly the first time they played the Colorado Avalanche this season.

They enjoyed Tuesday night's result a whole lot more.

Evgeny Kuznetsov had three assists, Braden Holtby stopped 22 shots one night after being pulled in the second period of a loss and the Capitals defeated the Avalanche 5-2.

The Capitals (19-12-1) got revenge for their 6-2 loss at Colorado on Nov. 16, arguably Washington's low point of the season. They are 9-3-0 since.

"We didn't have maybe our best game last night and these guys handed us our lunch last time," Capitals head coach Barry Trotz said. "I think (we) wanted to have a good response.

"We had good puck possession, some real good looks, and I think over time they wore down."

Jakub Vrana, John Carlson, Matt Niskanen, Brett Connolly and Devante Smith-Pelly scored for Washington, and Madison Bowey had two assists.

Colin Wilson and Tyson Jost scored for the Avalanche (14-14-2), and Semyon Varlamov made 22 saves against his former team.

"Tonight, we just didn't have the get-up-and-go that we needed," Avs head coach Jared Bednar said, "and I would say the commitment to sort of fight through a tough game for us just wasn't where it needed to be."

Colorado, coming off a win in Pittsburgh on Monday night, finished its road trip 2-2.

"It's a pretty good road trip coming out 2-2," Bednar said. "I'd like to have another point or two out of it, but it's satisfactory, let's put it that way."

Holtby would normally get one of back-to-back games off, but was pulled 1:34 into the second period during Monday's 3-1 loss at the New York Islanders. He allowed all three goals, and coach Barry Trotz opted to put him right back in the saddle against Colorado.

"We definitely put in a better effort. More committed, more energy," Holtby said. "I thought we just kind of were dead last game, myself included, and I think we all did what we needed to do throughout the day to get ourselves ready. Some areas of the game where we really excelled at and got some big goals at big times."

Washington hasn't lost back-to-back games in almost a month. They also have not yielded a power-play goal in eight games (18 for 18) after the Avalanche went 0 for 4.

The Capitals took an early 1-0 lead. Kuznetsov entered the Avalanche zone on a 3-on-2 rush. He held the puck until the defensemen committed, then fed to Vrana on his left and Vrana fired over Varlamov's shoulder for his ninth goal at 5:25.

Colorado tied it early in the second when Matt Nieto won a puck battle behind Holtby and fed out in front to Wilson, who controlled the puck and lifted a backhander into the top of the net at 4:13.

Wilson could have made it 2-1 on breakaway with less than seven minutes left in the period, but Holtby made the save.

"Big save on the breakaway," Connolly said. "Seems like he's always there to bail us out when we need him. ... Great bounce back game for him too."

Instead, Washington pulled ahead when Avs defenseman Tyson Barrie pushed the puck out toward the blue line on a broken play in front of Varlamov. Carlson, skating in, blasted a one-timer past Varlamov with 2:18 left in the period.

Connolly increased the lead to 3-1 at 5:15 of the third. With an extra attacker on the ice during a delayed penalty, Bowey sent a pass across ice and Connolly one-timed it home for what proved to be the game winner and his fourth goal in six games.

"He made a great play," Connolly said of Bowey. "I was calling for it a little bit over there. He made a great play, froze the goalie and I just kind of had to get it in the upper half of the net and I was fortunate enough to put it where I wanted."

Niskanen pushed the lead to 4-1 at 16:19 off a nice feed from Kuznetsov.

"Our execution wasn't all there," Colorado's Mark Barberio said. "I thought they brought the game to us more than we did to them."

NOTES: Washington is 13-0-1 when it leads after the first period. ... Capitals F T.J. Oshie (upper body injury) missed his fourth game. Coach Barry Trotz said Oshie will not travel to Boston for Thursday's game, but will resume practicing when the team returns home. ... Colorado RW Nail Yakupov was a healthy scratch for the third straight game. ... With his second-period goal, Avs C Colin Wilson is two short of 100 for his career. ... Washington's Andre Burakovsky picked up an assist for his 100th NHL point.

Isles top Caps to snap skid

NEW YORK -- There's nothing easy about the commute to Barclays Center for the New York Islanders. But for the Islanders players who live on Long Island, getting to Monday's game by navigating traffic along the New York-area highways or dealing with the train felt like vacation compared to what they went through last week.

Brock Nelson scored just 2:36 into the first period Monday night to give the road-weary Islanders a lead they would never relinquish in a 3-1 win over the Washington Capitals at Barclays Center.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Islanders (17-10-3), who came back early Sunday morning from a 1-2-1 road trip in which they never left the Eastern time zone yet arrived home feeling as drained as they would from a cross-country trek.

"For an Eastern Conference road trip, that week felt like three for some reason," New York captain John Tavares said. "We just seemed flat those last couple of games."

The Islanders opened the trip with a 5-4 shootout win over the Florida Panthers before falling to Tampa Bay (6-2), Pittsburgh (4-3 in overtime) and Boston (3-1). The real exhaustion set in during a delayed trip back from Boston through the season's first snowstorm following Saturday's game.

"We had a tough time getting back from Boston," left winger Andrew Ladd said. "I felt it played a role in terms of how we felt yesterday morning."

Ladd, who has played 551 of his 877 career games in the far-flung Western Conference, grinned and said the recent trip was nothing like those he experienced earlier in his career.

Even head coach Doug Weight, who played 990 games for Western Conference teams, noticed his players dragging during and after the trip.

"Florida, Tampa Bay, Pitt, Boston, it shouldn't be a bone-crushing, terrible four-game trip -- we sound like spoiled Easterners, but I think we all felt it," Weight said. "I think I heard it from a lot of guys coming back that didn't think they were going to feel that way. They're not a group that comes in and says 'I'm tired' so they don't have to skate or beg for days off. It was good to have a day off (Sunday)."

Nelson's goal provided a much-needed spark for the Islanders, who allowed the opponent to score first in each of the previous five games. New York opened the second in even quicker fashion when Ladd and Tavares scored in a 58-second span within the first two minutes to chase Capitals goalie Braden Holtby.

"You look at all the goals, they came early in the periods," Washington head coach Barry Trotz said. "I thought they came out a little bit better than us. I thought they were just a little quicker early."

The Capitals ended the shutout bid of Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak (31 saves) when Dmitry Orlov scored 8:23 into the third. But Washington didn't mount another serious challenge, even after pulling Philipp Grubauer with a little less than three minutes remaining.

"Just coming home, I think being in our own bed and (getting) some home-cooked food just seemed to do the trick," Tavares said.

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Capitals (19-11-1), who fell into a tie for second in the Metropolitan Division with the Islanders. The two teams are two points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Washington has won seven of its last nine games (7-2-0).

"Everyone knows we didn't really have our best game tonight, so that's a bit of a wakeup call," Capitals right winger Tom Wilson said. "We know them very well, they played us hard, they played us smart. We didn't seem to have the legs in order to compete against them tonight."

Holtby made nine saves while Grubauer stopped all 17 shots he faced.

NOTES: The Islanders scratched D Johnny Boychuk (lower body), who missed his third straight game, as well as C Shane Prince and C Alan Quine. ... Prince, who has been out all season with an ankle injury, was activated Sunday and loaned to Bridgeport of the AHL on a conditioning assignment. In a corresponding transaction, D Thomas Hickey (upper body) was placed on injured reserve, retroactive to Saturday. ... The Capitals scratched RW T.J. Oshie (upper body), who missed his third consecutive game, as well as D Taylor Chorney. ... Capitals G Braden Holtby was lifted from a game for the third time this season. He was pulled in the second period of a 6-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 26, and yanked after two periods of a 6-3 loss to the Nashville Predators on Nov. 14.

Caps' top line pops for 11 points in easy victory

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals' top line is humming, and that spells trouble for the rest of the NHL.

Tom Wilson scored twice, Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom registered goals, and the trio combined for seven assists Wednesday as the Capitals used a first-period scoring flurry to cruise to a 6-2 victory over the sliding Chicago Blackhawks.

Washington (17-11-1) has won six of seven since coach Barry Trotz moved assist-machine Backstrom back to the top line, where his passes, more often than not, have found Ovechkin, while Wilson has been a surprising contributor.

"They sort of took the game over," Trotz said. "That line carried us tonight. It's a hard line to play against. They're having some pretty good production right now."

The Capitals chased Blackhawks goalie Anton Forsberg with three goals in a 3:28 span of the opening frame. The run kicked off when Washington used a picture-perfect, tic-tac-toe passing play to set up its first goal at the 11:54 mark, with Wilson and Ovechkin assisting on Backstrom's fourth goal of the year and his first tally since Oct. 14.

"He's proud, he wants to score like everyone else," Trotz said. "It has to be a sense of relief for him."

Wilson put the Capitals up 2-0 just under three minutes later, sliding a shot under a seemingly surprised Forsberg's right pad. Only 29 seconds later, Wilson's breakaway shot was turned away by Forsberg, but the rebound went through Artem Anisimov's legs and right to Ovechkin, who didn't miss from point-blank range.

Washington's captain now has eight goals in his past seven games.

"It was clicking early," said Wilson, who finished with a career-high four points after an empty-net goal late in the third period. "I'm playing with two of the best players in the world. It was fun to kind of all get on the board quick there. We've been feeling pretty good."

Washington's third goal was enough for Chicago coach Joel Quenneville, who brought in backup netminder J.F. Berube from the bench.

"We let their top guys do what they wanted to do early in the game," Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews said. "When we got down, they just seemed to feed off it. They kept coming."

The Blackhawks (12-11-5) shook up their lines to get some more offense, and even though they fired 39 shots at Braden Holtby, the changes didn't result in a lot of good scoring opportunities.

"Maybe it looked like we had some looks there, but the quality of our chances, the volume of our shots hit (Holtby) right in the chest," Quenneville said. "It was almost like we gave the puck back to them just by putting it dead to net with no purpose. That was tough."

Lance Bouma poked in a rebound of a Connor Murphy shot to make it 3-1 late in the first period, and Toews scored a breakaway goal off a turnover for the Blackhawks late in the third period to pull Chicago within 5-2.

Berube finished with 12 saves for Chicago, which is 0-3-2 in its last five games.

"It's a different story every night," Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith said. "No one is going to feel sorry for us. Obviously, it's not been good enough and we need to be better."

Brett Connolly and Evgeny Kuznetsov also scored for the Capitals, who have won six of seven to move into a tie for second place in the Metropolitan Division.

"Our offense is clicking right now," Holtby said. "I thought our line of Nick, Ovi and Tom were great tonight. They were really feeling it. Tom's really come into his own, so that's good to see."

NOTES: Washington has won seven straight home games against Chicago. ... Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said there was a "likelihood" that G Corey Crawford would return to the lineup Sunday against Arizona. Crawford has been on injured reserve since Nov. 30 with a lower-body ailment. ... Capitals RW T.J. Oshie (upper body) did not play. C Chandler Stephenson saw action after missing one game with an upper-body injury. ... D Taylor Chorney and C Tyler Graovac were the Capitals' scratches, and the Blackhawks scratched D Michal Kempny, D Jordan Oesterle and C Tanner Kero. ... Chicago returns home Friday to face the Buffalo Sabres. Washington closes its season-high, five-game homestand Friday against the New York Rangers.

GAME SUMS

First Period-1, Washington, Backstrom 4 (Wilson, Ovechkin), 11:54. 2, Washington, Wilson 3 (Djoos, Backstrom), 14:53. 3, Washington, Ovechkin 21 (Wilson, Orlov), 15:22. 4, Chicago, Bouma 3 (Murphy, DeBrincat), 17:54. Penalties-None.
Second Period-5, Washington, Connolly 5 (Backstrom, Ovechkin), 18:32 (pp). Penalties-Niskanen, WSH, (hooking), 5:10; Wilson, WSH, (boarding), 10:48; Bouma, CHI, (interference), 17:19; Hartman, CHI, (high sticking), 18:40; Hartman, CHI, (high sticking), 18:40; Ovechkin, WSH, (interference), 19:00.
Third Period-6, Washington, Kuznetsov 10 (Carlson, Ovechkin), 10:23. 7, Chicago, Toews 8, 16:18. 8, Washington, Wilson 4 (Niskanen), 17:40 (sh). Penalties-Orpik, WSH, (hooking), 12:56; Hartman, CHI, (tripping), 15:18; Wilson, WSH, (roughing), 15:18; Bowey, WSH, (slashing), 17:16.
Shots on Goal-Chicago 16-16-7-39. Washington 11-6-8-25.
Power-play opportunities-Chicago 0 of 4; Washington 1 of 3.
Goalies-Chicago, Forsberg 1-4-3 (10 shots-7 saves), Berube 0-0-0 (14-12). Washington, Holtby 15-6-0 (39-37).
A-18,506 (18,277). T-2:30.
Referees-Jon Mclsaac, Dan O'Halloran. Linesmen-Scott Driscoll, Tony Sericolo.

Ovechkin lifts surging Capitals past Sharks

WASHINGTON -- When he was growing up, Alex Ovechkin was a San Jose Sharks fan.

On Monday night, the Sharks were just his latest victims.

Ovechkin scored his league-leading 20th goal of the season and added an assist, Philipp Grubauer stopped 24 shots and the Washington Capitals defeated the Sharks 4-1.

Ovechkin collected his sixth goal in seven games and moved ahead of Mark Recchi into sole possession of 20th place on the NHL's all-time goals list with 578.

"When Ovi is skating like he was skating tonight, he's a force," Washington coach Barry Trotz said. "I was told ... that he (passed Recchi) and the difference is about 700 games. It blows my mind that (he) can pass some great players in this league in term of production and do it with a difference of 700 games."

Monday marked the Capitals' first win at home against the Sharks since 2009, and it was just Washington's second regulation win in their last 26 games against San Jose, the team Ovechkin rooted for while growing up in Russia.

"I was (a fan), but that was a long time ago," Ovechkin said.

Devante Smith-Pelly, Brett Connolly and Jakub Vrana also scored for the Capitals (16-11-1), who have won five of six and are 2-1-0 on their season-high, five-game homestand.

After losing his first six starts, Grubauer has allowed two goals in winning his last two.

"I thought when the game was 2-0, 2-1 (Grubauer) was outstanding," Trotz said. "We left him alone on a couple of odd-man situations and he stood tall."

Timo Meier scored for the Sharks (14-10-2), who finished 2-2-0 on their four-game road trip.

Martin Jones made 25 stops in his first career loss to Washington after four wins.

Washington F T.J. Oshie left the game with an upper-body injury late in the second period after a hit by San Jose's Joe Thornton as Oshie was falling near the boards.

"I bumped him. It felt like my hip kind of hit him in the head," Thornton said. "It's just unfortunate what happened."

At the start of the third period, Washington's Tom Wilson challenged the 38-year-old Thornton to fight. They did, and the result was a chippy third period interrupted by several more fights.

"If someone would have grabbed Joe in the heat of the moment, after the play, because they thought a liberty was taken, then I've got to problem with that," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "But to go into the dressing room, think about it, then come out on the first shift and do that pre-meditated crap is just garbage."

Trotz did not have an update on Oshie after the game.

The first period was scoreless until, with 3:11 left, Smith-Pelly deflected John Carlson's shot from the point past Jones.

Ovechkin made it 2-0 at 7:11 of second period. When San Jose defenseman Brent Burns could not corral a pass at his feet from Kevin Labanc at the Washington blue line, Ovechkin scooped up the puck, skated in alone on Jones and beat him with an elevated backhander.

"He's been working on it for ages," Grubauer said. "Since I've been here he's been working on his backhand and it paid off today."

The Sharks halved the deficit when Justin Braun's blast from the blue line rebounded off the end boards to Meier, who shot it past Grubauer at 11:32.

"We had chances. I thought we could have had three or four (goals)," DeBoer said. "It thought it was a pretty even game. Kind of slipped away from us in the third."

Late in the period with Washington on the power play, Evgeny Kuznetsov, falling down after a hit at the San Jose blue line, pushed the puck to Ovechkin on the left side. Ovechkin fed Connolly and his backhand was in and out so quickly that play continued. When there was finally a stoppage, the play was reviewed and the goal awarded at 19:08.

The goal then survived a challenge by Sharks coach Peter DeBoer, who contended that the Capitals entered the zone offside.

Vrana closed out the scoring with his eighth goal at 11:36 of the third period on a power play.

NOTES: Mark Rechhi played 1,652 games in his career. Alex Ovechkin has played 949. ... Capitals F Travis Boyd, the team's sixth-round pick in the 2011 draft, made his NHL debut. F Chandler Stephenson (upper body injury) sat out and is day-to-day. ... Washington F Andre Burakovsky (thumb surgery) took part in the morning skate for the first time since his injury. He has missed 19 games. ... San Jose now holds a 25-10-2-1 lead in the all-time series vs. Washington. ... Sharks F Marcus Sorensen, recalled from San Jose of the AHL on Saturday, was on the third line. F Ryan Carpenter was scratched.

Kings score 2 goals in 9 seconds to beat Capitals 5-2

By STEPHEN WHYNO
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Plenty of thoughts raced through Jussi Jokinen’s mind before taking the ice, from his daughter’s birthday to his success on the road against the Capitals.

Not much went through his mind when he scored the Los Angeles Kings’ second goal in a span of nine seconds, the key stretch in a 5-2 victory at Washington on Thursday night. The quick-strike, second-period goals by Jonny Brodzinski and Jokinen helped the Kings win their third in a row.

“It kind of changed the whole hockey game,” Jokinen said. “It gave a big lift to our hockey team, and we didn’t have to chase the game anymore, and they had to chase the game.”

Jokinen’s goal was his first in 21 games this season after starting with the Edmonton Oilers before a trade to Los Angeles on Nov. 14. In the midst of a challenging year that included being bought out by the Florida Panthers in June, the 34-year-old was beaming at being able to celebrate daughter Sandra’s sixth birthday with his first goal since March 17.

“She hasn’t seen her dad score a goal in a long time,” said Jokinen, who has eight goals and seven assists in 22 games at Washington. “It was fun to get one on her birthday. It feels good.”

The Kings are finally back to feeling good after losing seven of eight from Nov. 9-24. This one wasn’t easy, as they had to rally and withstand two goals from Washington’s Evgeny Kuznetsov, but the Kings got 27 saves from Jonathan Quick and two goals from Marian Gaborik to get the job done.

“They’re so hard to play against,” said defenseman Drew Doughty, who played a big part in shutting down the Capitals’ top line of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson. “I’ve never been so tired in my whole entire life. I felt like I spent the entire game in my own zone playing against that Ovechkin line. But it was a great battle. All four lines, all six D, Quickie played great — it was just a full team effort, and that’s why we won.”

Washington’s win streak ended at three as a handful of miscues proved costly. Goaltender Braden Holtby made a miscommunication that led to Brodzinski’s goal, and rookie defenseman Madison Bowey was out of position on Jokinen’s.

“We did a lot of good things,” said Holtby, who allowed three goals on 25 shots. “We did some bad things, too. We got a lucky on a few plays, too. ... Just some areas, we’ve got to get on the same page with more attention to detail, myself included, and go from there.”

The Kings were plenty happy about winning a fun, back-and-forth game against the Capitals. But no one wanted to get ahead of themselves about stringing together a few wins.

“It’s a process,” coach John Stevens said. “We’re trying to get our team to a point where we continue to build our team game. It’s frustrating when you lose, your energy kind of drops a little bit. But the group’s been terrific, I think the leadership group’s been terrific and we still put ourselves in a position where we want to be and continue to get better.”

NOTES: Tyler Toffoli had an empty netter with 4 seconds left. ... Quick improved to 8-2-0 in his career against Washington. ... Los Angeles defenseman Kurtis MacDermid picked up his first two assists in his 18th NHL game. ... The Kings’ league-best penalty kill was a perfect 2 for 2. ... Capitals D Dmitry Orlov picked up his 100th career point as he assisted on Kuznetsov’s first goal. ... Capitals D Christian Djoos returned after missing six games with a suspected concussion. He replaced Taylor Chorney. ... Washington put F Nathan Walker on waivers with the intent of the Aussie getting more playing time in the American Hockey League. ... Kings F Torrey Mitchell missed his third consecutive game with immigration/visa issues since being acquired from Montreal on Thanksgiving.

UP NEXT

Kings: Continue their four-game trip Friday night at the St. Louis Blues.

Capitals: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night in the second part of a five-game home stand.

Gaudreau extends point streak to 10 as Flames beat Capitals

By STEPHEN WHYNO
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Johnny Gaudreau would rather talk about anything other than his offensive production. He’s just making it impossible to avoid.

Gaudreau had a goal and an assist to extend his career-best point streak to 10 games and lead the Calgary Flames to a 4-1 victory over the Washington Capitals on Monday night. Gaudreau, nicknamed “Johnny Hockey,” has eight goals and 11 assists, and the Flames are 7-3-0 in that time.

“It’s cool,” Gaudreau said. “Coming into games, we’re excited to find a way to find the net there. It’s an exciting time right now. We’re playing well. But you go through ups and downs throughout the season and right now it’s going well for us, so hopefully we can keep this going and keep playing well.”

Gaudreau scored and assisted on Sean Monahan’s goal, one of two on the power play for Calgary, which has won four of its past five. Mikael Backlund and captain Mark Giordano also scored for the Flames, who got 29 saves from Mike Smith.

Monahan had a goal and an assist after a power-play hat trick in a comeback victory Saturday at Philadelphia. Calgary’s top line is clicking, and everyone knows Gaudreau is the catalyst.

“He’s making something happen every shift,” Monahan said. “To be able to play on his line, it’s a lot of fun right now. That confidence is hard to take away from a guy like that, so he’s going to continue to do that.”

Coach Glen Gulutzan sees confidence oozing from the 5-foot-9, 157-pound winger from Carneys Point, New Jersey. His goal tied the score at the 4:49 mark after Lars Eller struck first for the Capitals about a minute in, but Gaudreau’s play in the defensive zone also stood out.

“What a coach likes more is his backcheck on (Alex Ovechkin) that lifted the stick,” Gulutzan said. “I know he’s going to get points because he’s just that gifted, but his commitment to winning just shows itself night in, night out. I love that he’s on the roll. You want him to stay on the roll. But I thought that line again had a tough matchup and they did well.”

The Capitals took five minor penalties and lost for the third time in four games.

“It’s going to be tough sledding for us this year,” defenseman Matt Niskanen said. “We’re going to have to work really hard to be consistent because it’s not going to be easy for us. We’re going to have to learn some tough lessons along the way.”

Goaltender Braden Holtby, who stopped 35 of 39 shots, thought he should’ve stopped Gaudreau’s off the rush but also allowed third-period goals to Backlund and Giordano.

“I need to make some saves,” Holtby said. “There’s some stoppable pucks there, and that’s the difference.”

The Flames’ power play was officially 2 of 5 with Giordano’s goal coming 1 second after ex-Calgary forward Alex Chiasson’s penalty expired. The Capitals’ power play went 0 for 3, a win for Calgary’s NHL-worst penalty kill.

“They did a great job tonight, especially with the Caps’ power play,” Gaudreau said. “They did a great job cleaning that up, and it was a big reason why we won tonight was the PK.”

That was a big reason, but so was the play of Gaudreau, Monahan and Micheal Ferland, who have a fan in 45-year-old legend Jaromir Jagr.

“They’re our top guys,” said Jagr, who had an assist in what could be his final visit to Washington, where he played parts of three seasons. “They play unbelievable. The way they play every night is the reason why we have the record we have.”

NOTES: Flames F Matthew Tkachuk had two assists in his return from a one-game suspension for his role in a brawl at Detroit last week. F Freddie Hamilton also played for the first time since Oct. 21 as Curtis Lazar and Matt Stajan were healthy scratches. ... Capitals coach Barry Trotz said D Christian Djoos, who’s out with an upper body injury that may be a concussion, hasn’t skated since being injured last week at Nashville.

UP NEXT

Flames: Continue their six-game trip Wednesday night at Columbus.

Capitals: Host Ottawa on Wednesday night.

Landeskog’s hat trick lifts Avalanche over Capitals, 6-2

Associated Press

DENVER (AP) — Gabriel Landeskog has been a vocal captain for the Colorado Avalanche. This time, he led by example and carried his team to victory.

Landeskog scored three goals — one on a penalty shot — for his first career hat trick, Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and four assists and Colorado made it a successful return from Sweden with a 6-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Thursday night.

Mikko Rantanen added a goal and three assists, Colin Wilson also scored and Semyon Varlamov had 28 saves for the Avalanche.

“The two points are the important thing,” Landeskog said. “We knew this was a big game for us. We hadn’t played in a while and the Sweden trip didn’t go as well as we wanted.”

Colorado was playing at home for the first time in two weeks and for just the fifth time overall in that span. The gap included a trip to Sweden to play two games against Ottawa last weekend and Matt Duchene, traded by the Avalanche to the Senators on Nov. 5.

Colorado got four players and three draft picks in the three-way deal, and two of those players were on the ice Thursday. Sam Girard, a 19-year-old defenseman, got an assist on MacKinnon’s goal at the end of the first period.

Colorado’s other new rookie, center Vladislav Kamenev, made his Avalanche debut but left in the second period with a broken arm sustained on a check by Washington defenseman Brooks Orpik.

“You hate to see that,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “A kid coming up and getting a good opportunity to jump in and he’s new to the organization. I know he really wants to impress. He’s a little bit down in the dumps. He suffered a pretty bad injury and he’s going to miss some time.”

Phillip Grubauer made 22 saves and Brett Connolly and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored for the Capitals.

Washington has allowed six goals in consecutive games, which prompted a quick team meeting after the game.

“The only two areas we were good were faceoffs and I thought power play,” coach Barry Trotz said. “Our power play generated a lot of chances and zone time. Other than that, puck battles, races, 1-on-1 play, that was all junk. Not good enough.”

Landeskog had one assist in the two losses to Ottawa in his home country, but the disappointment didn’t carry over. He started the scoring 17 seconds into the game and added his second goal when he beat Grubauer on a penalty shot at 4:59 of the third period to give Colorado a 4-1 lead.

“It was big,” he said. “I’m not really a shootout specialist by any means but I was able to sneak that one in.”

Landeskog completed his hat trick with a power-play goal at 19:35 of the third. He has eight goals this season to lead Colorado.

“It felt good to get that third one,” Landeskog said. “I had a couple of good looks before.”

MacKinnon made it 2-0 with his sixth goal at 19:53 of the first. Wilson scored at 12:25 of the second and Rantanen added a power-play goal late in the third.

Connolly cut the deficit to 3-1 with his second goal at 18:36 of the second. The Avalanche had a goal disallowed on goaltender interference a minute later.

NOTES: Avalanche D Tyson Barrie was out with an upper-body injury but should be back in the lineup soon. D Anton Lindholm (broken jaw) and D Patrik Nemeth (lower-body injury) were also out. ... Washington rookie D Christian Djoos was out with an upper-body injury. ... Colorado C Tyson Jost was sent to San Antonio of the AHL for conditioning. Jost has missed eight straight games and 10 of the last 12 with lower-body injuries.

UP NEXT

Capitals: Host the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night.

Avalanche: At the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.

Ekholm, Fiala lead Predators to 6-3 win over Capitals

By JIM DIAMOND
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The trade that sent Filip Forsberg to Nashville has not worked out well for the Washington Capitals.

Mattias Ekholm and Kevin Fiala each had a goal and an assist to lead Forsberg and the streaking Predators past the Capitals 6-3 on Tuesday night for their fifth straight victory.

Craig Smith, Nick Bonino, Forsberg and Miikka Salomaki also scored for Nashville. Pekka Rinne made 26 saves, and 12 players had at least one point for the Predators.

T.J. Oshie scored twice and Alex Chiasson also had a goal for Washington, which had won two consecutive games.

Smith scored the first goal at 11:48 of the opening period. On a delayed penalty to the Capitals, he redirected Fiala’s shot past goalie Braden Holtby for his sixth of the season.

The goal came on Nashville’s 12th shot of the period. Washington had not registered a shot on Rinne to that point. The Predators ended the first with an 18-3 shots advantage.

“We were wearing their defense down and they had to chase,” Ekholm said. “As long as we were in the offensive zone, we were shooting a lot of pucks and they had to retreat all the time. It was making their team tired and wearing them down.”

Bonino made it 2-0 at 17:43. Standing just to Holtby’s right side, Bonino tipped Roman Josi’s wrister from the top of the left circle for his second goal of the season.

Bonino missed Nashville’s previous 11 games with a lower-body injury.

“They jumped on us early,” Washington coach Barry Trotz said. “We didn’t show up in the first. We showed up in the second, and in the second we needed a couple of saves and we didn’t get them. It put us really out of reach there.”

Trotz was the inaugural coach of the Predators when they entered the NHL in 1998 and lasted with them through the conclusion of the 2013-14 season.

The teams combined for seven second-period goals, including five in the span of 4:52. Washington briefly tied the game early in the second after Oshie and Chiasson scored 1:59 apart.

“I thought we were really good in the first period,” Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. “They obviously turned it on and got going in the second period. The second period became a lot more competitive.”

Nashville regained the lead for good at 6:28 on Forsberg’s goal, just 17 seconds after Chiasson tied it.

In the left faceoff circle, Forsberg stole the puck from John Carlson and sent a wrist shot toward the Washington net. The puck glanced off the skate of Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik and by Holtby.

It was Forsberg’s 100th NHL goal. Nashville acquired Forsberg in a 2013 trade-deadline deal that was a bust for the Capitals, who netted Martin Erat and Michael Latta in return.

Asked if scoring against the team that dealt him away was special, Forsberg played it cool.

“I think it’s always going to be a little bit special, obviously,” he said. “But at the same time, it’s two points. It’s just like any other game, I guess. It was fun.”

Forsberg has 10 points in seven career games against the Capitals.

Holtby made 19 saves and was replaced by Philipp Grubauer at the start of the third period. Grubauer turned aside all six shots he faced.

NOTES: Washington D Matt Niskanen returned to the lineup after missing 13 games with a hand injury. ... The Capitals gave up a power-play goal after going four games without allowing one. ... Nashville is 8-0-2 when leading after two periods. ... Salomaki has points in four consecutive games, a career high.

UP NEXT

Capitals: At the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.

Predators: At the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.