That’s 12! Caps rally to down Rangers, extend win streak
By Bud L. Ellis
A dozen, the dirty way.
Down two goals late in the second period Thursday night, the Washington Capitals found a way to keep their franchise-record win streak alive.
In an up-and-down affair at Madison Square Garden, the Caps rallied from a 5-3 deficit, scoring three times in a 5:42 span to grab a 6-5 victory over the New York Rangers.
That makes 12 consecutive wins for the Caps (39-12-6, 84 points), pushing Washington’s lead over New Jersey in Eastern Conference to 12 points. The Devils made a big move Thursday night, trading for Atlanta winger Ilya Kovalchuk.
The Caps’ streak is the longest in the NHL since New Jersey won 13 in a row in 2000-01.
Ironically, the Caps go for No. 13 Friday against the Thrashers, in Atlanta’s first game without Kovalchuk.
The Caps had to battle back twice Thursday. Down 2-1 after one, Washington found itself down 5-3 with time running low in the second period.
But Alex Ovechkin, who scored twice on a three-point night and reached the 500-point career plateau, scored his second of the night with 8.5 seconds left in the period to make it 5-4 after two. Tom Poti tied the game at 5-5 with a power-play goal 59 seconds into the third period.
Nicklas Backstrom gave the Caps the lead for keeps at the 5:34 mark with a power-play goal.
Boyd Gordon scored Washington’s first goal with 3:20 left in the first, tying the game at 1-1. Down 2-1 after one, Mike Knuble’s goal 4:41 into the second tied it. Ovechkin’s first of the game came on a power play at 7:16, but the Rangers scored three times off Jose Theodore in a 6:29 span of the second to take a 5-3 lead.
Theodore made the 6-5 lead hold up, making 33 saves (and stopping all six Rangers’ shots in the final 20 minutes). Backstrom finished with a five-point night (four assists).
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