Ovechkin returns, Capitals top Rangers

Matt Bradley bounced back from having his face bloodied in a first-period fight to net the winning goal with 4:51 left, and Alex Ovechkin also scored in his return from injury to lift the Washington Capitals to a 4-2 victory over the host New York Rangers on Tuesday night.

Bradley left with 9:21 left in the opening period after taking several hard blows to the face from New York's Aaron Voros. Later, he knocked the puck away from Wade Redden and raced up ice on a break. Matt Gilroy couldn't catch him from behind, and Bradley beat goalie Henrik Lundqvist.

Brooks Laich and Brian Pothier also scored for the Capitals.

Marian Gaborik scored both goals for the Rangers and moved into a tie for the league lead with Ovechkin with his 15th.

Also Tuesday

Senators 3, Maple Leafs 2: Mike Fisher scored twice, including the tiebreaking goal in the second period, and host Ottawa beat Toronto.

Fisher beat Vesa Toskala with a high shot with 5:50 left in the second period to help the Senators rally from a 2-1 deficit.

Milan Michalek also scored for the Senators (9-6-3), who earned their first win in three games. Alex Kovalev, Alexandre Picard and Chris Campoli added two assists each.

Predators 4, Sharks 3: Joel Ward and David Legwand each had a goal and two assists, and host Nashville beat San Jose for its third straight win and seventh in nine games.

Jerred Smithson had a goal and Ryan Suter had two assists for Nashville, which was coming off a 2-0 win over Montreal in which the Predators fired off a franchise-record 55 shots. Putting the puck in the net was no problem against Sharks backup goalie Thomas Greiss, playing his fourth game this season.

Late Monday

Lightning 4, Coyotes 1: Vincent Lecavalier had two goals and an assist and Mike Smith made 30 saves to lead visiting Tampa Bay.

Latest Comment View all comments