WASHINGTON – Nicklas Backstrom scored two second-period goals and added an assist, Alex Ovechkin added his league-leading 38th goal and an assist and the Washington Capitals defeated the Winnipeg Jets 5-1 on Thursday night.
Troy Brouwer added an empty-net goal and an assist, John Carlson scored, and Marcus Johansson added two assists for Washington, which has won four of five.
Backstrom, who has 16 assists in his past 16 games, moved into a tie with Chicago’s Patrick Kane atop the NHL scoring list with 63 points.
Ovechkin, celebrating his bobblehead night, extended his point streak to six games, and Braden Holtby stopped 19 shots.
Toby Enstrom scored for Winnipeg, which had won four of five, and Ondrej Pavelec made 28 saves.
The Capitals scored three power-play goals and have eight in their past six games.
Trailing 2-0 after one period, the Jets pulled within one at 11:17 of the second when Enstrom’s shot from the point ricocheted off the stick and skate of Washington’s Karl Alzner before eluding Holtby.
Just 15 seconds later, however, Winnipeg’s Blake Wheeler was called for tripping, the first of four Jets penalties over the next 4:15.
Backstrom converted on two of them.
First his shot from the point on a delayed call got by Pavelec at 13:07 to make it 3-1.
Then Backstrom capped a pretty tic-tac-toe passing sequence when he took a pass across the slot from Ovechkin and fired it into the back of the net for his 18th goal at 15:47.
The Jets controlled play early on – and nearly took the lead when Drew Stafford hit the post – before Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele was called for tripping at 12:26 of the first.
With the power play nearly over, Backstrom bounced a pass off the boards back to Carlson at the point. His high shot through a screen beat Pavelec at 14:10.
It was the defenceman’s ninth goal of the season, and fourth in his past seven games.
Ovechkin made it 2-0 when he carried in along the left boards in a two-on-one break. He kept the puck and sent a wrist shot between Pavelec’s legs at 18:35.
NOTES: The Capitals have won seven straight against the Jets. … Backstrom (557) passed Bengt Gustafsson (555) and Dale Hunter (556) to move into fifth place on the Capitals points list. … Stafford was in the lineup after leaving Monday’s game against Edmonton in the third period with an upper-body injury. … Wheeler had to be helped off the ice after blocking a shot with his left leg in the third period.
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