Ovechkin has 2 goals, assist to extend streak, Capitals top Devils

WASHINGTON -- Alex Ovechkin had two goals and an assist for the Washington Capitals in a 6-2 win against the New Jersey Devils at Capital One Arena on Tuesday.

Ovechkin extended his point streak to nine games (13 points; eight goals, five assists).

Connor McMichael scored twice in his first NHL multigoal game for the Capitals (25-21-8), who have won two in a row for the first time since Jan. 16-18. Dylan Strome had a goal and two assists, and Charlie Lindgren made 37 saves.

“Tonight was a very important game for us,” said Ovechkin, the Washington captain. “It was kind of a four-point game. We have a great start. [McMichael’s] line did a great job out there. ‘Chucky’ was unbelievable today. … And the most important thing, we didn’t stop playing in the third period.”

Alexander Holtz and Erik Haula scored for the Devils (28-23-4), who have lost two of three. Nico Daws made 20 saves in New Jersey’s first game since defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 in the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Saturday.

“You look at missed opportunities,” New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. “We had a couple rush plays, 2-on-1s, that we didn’t generate opportunities. You’ve got to give them the credit. When we gave them an opportunity, they put it away. We didn’t put away our opportunities.”

McMichael gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 39 seconds of the first period, knocking in a rebound from the slot after Daws made a pad save on Aliaksei Protas’s shot from the right circle.

Holtz tied it 1-1 at 15:06. Simon Nemec stole the puck from T.J. Oshie along the left-wing boards and passed across the crease to Holtz, who tipped the puck in from the back post.

McMichael gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead at 4:17 of the second period. He controlled a loose puck in the offensive zone, toe-dragged past Tomas Nosek, eluded Nemec and then tucked the puck in behind a sprawling Daws.

“I saw the goalie a little far out of his crease so I kind of just faked the shot and went around him and it just barely got over the line, so it was good to see that one go in,” McMichael said.

Strome increased the lead to 3-1 at 4:10 of the third period when he knocked in his own rebound after initially redirecting a pass from Ovechkin.

“I think that’s where you’ve got to go to score goals in the NHL,” Strome said after Washington scored five of its six goals in close. “We talked about it before the game, how we wanted to get inside and we did a good job. We had multiple chances in there.”

Ovechkin made it 4-1 at 8:44, scoring on a wrist shot from the top of the left circle after a face-off win by Strome.

Michael Sgarbossa increased the lead to 5-1 at 12:27, scoring in front after a pass from John Carlson. It was his first NHL goal since Dec. 17, 2021.

“We had our chances earlier in the game, and for two periods I thought we were the better team,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “But the third, we got too frustrated, weren't sharp enough in front of our net and we just left tap-ins all over the ice. It's just not good enough."

Haula pulled the Devils within 5-2 at 15:34, scoring on the rush off a feed from Tyler Toffoli.

Ovechkin scored on the power play at 19:27 for the 6-2 final, tapping in a pass from Strome for his 16th goal of the season and his eighth in his past eight games.

“We know how important the games are,” Lindgren said. “So, it’s playoff hockey for us. I thought we did a really good job tonight of just managing our emotions. We killed off a couple of big penalties in the second and obviously we scored six goals. As a goalie, when you get that kind of run support, you’re in a pretty good spot.”

NOTES: Ovechkin has 838 goals, 56 behind Wayne Gretzky for the NHL record. He scored his 412th home goal to pass Jaromir Jagr for third in NHL history, trailing Gretzky (492) and Gordie Howe (449). … Washington forward Nic Dowd left the game after the first period because of an upper-body injury. Coach Spencer Carbery said Dowd will be evaluated Wednesday. … McMichael has scored five of his 19 NHL goals against the Devils. … The Capitals won the season series 3-1. … New Jersey defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler played 18:50 and blocked three shots in his return after missing 16 games because of a broken foot. … Hischier won 14 of 20 face-offs.