Alex Ovechkin scored in the waning seconds of overtime to give Washington its latest victory. The Chicago Blackhawks, also on an impressive winning streak, dominated Edmonton from the start.
After the Capitals squandered a two-goal lead in the third period, Ovechkin netted his second of the game with 10.7 seconds left in overtime Tuesday night and Washington beat the skidding New York Islanders 5-4 for its fourth straight win.
“That’s what superheroes are all about,” Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said. “But he’d likely be the first to tell you we didn’t play well.”
After the Islanders failed to get the puck out, Nicklas Backstrom found Ovechkin at the edge of the right circle for a wrister that New York goalie Joey MacDonald called a “picture-perfect shot.”
The reigning NHL MVP, Ovechkin has 19 goals this season. He gave the Capitals a 4-2 cushion with 3:25 left in the second at Uniondale, N.Y.
Brent Johnson made 35 saves to win his fifth consecutive start. The injury-riddled Islanders, who matched their longest losing streak of last season at seven, have dropped nine of 10 (1-8-1).
for guys in this room,” Doug Weight said. “We have to get ourselves out of it.”
Washington has won four consecutive games and eight of 11 to open an eight-point lead in the Southeast Division.
“I didn’t like the fact we stopped playing in the third period. And I didn’t want a shootout, because of too many factors,” Ovechkin said. “I wanted us to win in overtime.”
Chicago put away the Oilers long before that.
Troy Brouwer had two goals and an assist as the Blackhawks stormed into Edmonton and won their fifth in a row with a 9-2 rout. Chicago went 4-for-5 on the power play, improving to 15-4-6 since coach Joel Quenneville took over for Denis Savard.
“It’s been a fun little run we’re on right now,” Quenneville said. “I think it’s a good group. I think they care for one another and I think that’s important.”
In other NHL games Tuesday, it was: the New York Rangers 3, Anaheim 1; Carolina 3, Montreal 2; Philadelphia 5, Colorado 2; Toronto 3, New Jersey 2 in a shootout; Atlanta 4, Ottawa 1; Calgary 6, St. Louis 3; and Dallas 2, Phoenix 1 in OT.
Patrick Kane added a goal and two assists for Chicago, which improved to 6-5-3 on the road and 6-0-1 in its last seven games overall. Duncan Keith, Colin Fraser, Brian Campbell, Kris Versteeg, Ben Eager and Craig Adams also scored.
made the playoffs.
“We’re an unbelievable team,” Brouwer said. “We’re young and we’ve got a lot of heart on this team and we know we’re good. I think that’s what really makes us even better is that we go out there and know we can win every night.”
Chicago scored five times in the second period, chasing goalie Mathieu Garon and building a 7-1 lead. Edmonton gave up nine goals for the first time since a 9-4 loss to Los Angeles on Dec. 28, 1992.
“It was humiliating,” Sheldon Souray said. “It was a real poor effort. They pretty much exposed us in every area of the game. They took it to us all over the place. All the way around we got outplayed. It’s been a long time since I have been part of a game like that.”
The seven-goal margin tied a franchise record for home losses. The other two also came against Chicago, one in 1992 and the other in 1995.
“That’s an embarrassing number of goals,” Edmonton assistant captain Shawn Horcoff said. “We just weren’t ready. There wasn’t one area of the game where we were effective at all.”
Flyers 5, Avalanche 2
At Philadelphia, Mike Richards and Simon Gagne each had a goal and two assists to help the Flyers win their fifth straight. Mike Knuble, Jeff Carter and Joffrey Lupul also scored for Philadelphia, 8-0-2 in its past 10 home games.
Rangers 3, Ducks 1
Pronger and beat Jonas Hiller between the pads for a tiebreaking goal with 3:16 remaining.
Chris Drury and Nikolai Zherdev also scored for New York to back Henrik Lundqvist (19 saves). Hiller started in place of Jean-Sebastien Giguere, whose father died Monday.
Flames 6, Blues 3
At St. Louis, Jarome Iginla had two goals and two assists to match his career best for points, and goalie Miikka Kiprusoff beat St. Louis for the 11th straight time as Calgary ended a three-game slide.
Stars 2, Coyotes 1, OT
At Dallas, Loui Eriksson scored two goals, including the game-winner with 1:21 left in overtime. Marty Turco stopped 22 shots by Phoenix, which dropped to 0-4 in overtime. The Stars played their first game since cutting ties with Sean Avery on Sunday.
Hurricanes 3, Canadiens 2
At Raleigh, N.C., Eric Staal scored two power-play goals and Carolina took advantage of the penalty-prone Canadiens. Cam Ward made 22 saves, including one on a point-blank chance by Montreal’s Alex Kovalev with 10 seconds remaining. The Canadiens were called for 11 of the game’s first 12 penalties.
Maple Leafs 3, Devils 2, SO
this season.
Thrashers 4, Senators 1
At Ottawa, Colby Armstrong scored a pair of goals 31 seconds apart in the third period and Atlanta ended a three-game skid. Ondrej Pavelec stopped 28 shots, losing a bid for his first career shutout with 1:18 left.
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