Ovechkin, Capitals increase lead in Metropolitan, defeat Rangers

NEW YORK -- The Washington Capitals extended their winning streak to four games and their lead in the Metropolitan Division to five points when they defeated the New York Rangers 4-2 at Madison Square Garden on Monday.
Washington (45-24-7), which has won eight of its past nine games, has 97 points, five more than the Pittsburgh Penguins. Each has six games remaining.

"I couldn't tell you who is in second, third, fourth," Capitals forward T.J. Oshie said. "I know we're at the top in our division and we have to still keep going, keep getting points."
WATCH: [All Capitals vs. Rangers highlights]
Alex Ovechkin scored his League-leading 45th goal and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his second career shorthanded goal (March 25, 2014).

Oshie scored his fifth goal in seven games, Matt Niskanen scored his third in six games and Philipp Grubauer made 28 saves.
The past six wins by the Capitals have each come against teams that aren't in position to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs or have already been eliminated. The past three have come on the road, giving Washington its longest road winning streak of the season.
"Playoffs are right around the corner and it's going to be important to win games on the road," Oshie said. "If you can get one on the road, that goes a long way in a seven-game series. It's looking good for us right now. We've got to continue it. We realize a couple of these teams aren't in the playoffs, but still we're getting wins, getting points and building confidence."
The Rangers (33-35-8) are 12 points behind the New Jersey Devils for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference. They will be eliminated from playoff contention if the Devils get at least one point against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.
Rookie
Lias Andersson
, the No. 7 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, scored in his NHL debut. Fellow rookie
Filip Chytil,
the No. 21 pick in 2017 who was playing his third game, and first since Oct. 7, got his first point with an assist.

Chytil, 18, and Andersson, 19, were recalled from Hartford of the American Hockey League on Sunday. They're the first pair of teenagers to play in the same game with the Rangers since Dave Maloney and Ron Greschner did so Dec. 19, 1974, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
"Both kids had a good game," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "It was an emotional day and an emotional game for them, but I thought they played well."
Rangers rookie goalie Alexandar Georgiev was pulled at 8:54 of the first period after allowing three goals on six shots. Ondrej Pavelec made 26 saves in relief, helping the Rangers stay in it after falling behind 4-0 in the first period.
It was Pavelec's first appearance since Feb. 9. He missed 18 games from Feb. 11-March 20 with a knee injury and was the backup to Georgiev the past two games.
"It was encouraging for the kids," Vigneault said. "He's been a real good teammate. It was good to see him go in goal there and have a good game."
The Capitals struck early in the first period with goals from Oshie at 2:50, Niskanen at 5:13, and Ovechkin on the power play at 8:54 for a 3-0 lead. Kuznetsov made it 4-0 at 16:39.

"We jumped in right away," Ovechkin said. "I think we had pretty good chances in the first couple shifts. [Oshie] scored and it kind of sent a message to everybody. You could see it."
The Capitals said they were too loose with the puck and relied too heavily on Grubauer in the final two periods, crediting the Rangers for responding.
Andersson made it 4-1 at 13:16 of the second period. Zuccarello scored at 4:26 of the third to make it 4-2. The Rangers outshot the Capitals 23-18 in the final two periods, including 16-10 in the second period.
"The guys in here, you could tell we weren't all that pumped up," Oshie said. "We realize we won a period and that's about it. [Grubauer] won the rest for us."

Goal of the game

Niskanen's goal at 5:13 of the first period.

Save of the game

Grubauer's save on Cody McLeod at 16:16 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Kuznetsov's failed attempt at a lacrosse-style goal at 2:56 of the second period.

They said it

"We were working for it [in the first period]. It maybe felt or looked a little easier, but guys were working for the puck, working to get open for each other. In the second and third, it seemed like guys were kind of waiting around for something to come to them." -- Capitals forward T.J. Oshie
"We were able to win the second and third period, but you can't play a first period like that and expect to come away with two points against a good team like that. It's a good learning experience for us." -- Rangers forward Chris Kreider

Need to know

With two assists, Nicklas Backstrom moved into sole possession of third place in the Capitals' all-time scoring list with 791 points. ... Andersson (19 years, 164 days) became the youngest player in Rangers history to score in his NHL debut, passing Mike Allison (19 years, 195 days), who did it on Oct. 9, 1980 at the Boston Bruins.

What's next

Capitals: Host the New York Rangers on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV)
Rangers: At the Washington Capitals on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV)