Caps top Avs, move closer to clinching Metro title
DENVER -- Evgeny Kuznetsov and Marcus Johansson had a goal and an assist each, and the streaking Washington Capitals beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-3 on Wednesday night.
John Carlson, Jay Beagle and Lars Eller also collected goals, and Philipp Grubauer made 32 saves for Washington, which won its sixth in a row.
The Capitals (51-17-8) moved closer to clinching the Metropolitan Division and the Presidents' Trophy, which is awarded to the team finishing with the most points in the league. Washington now has 110 points, five more than idle Metro rival Columbus, and the West-leading Chicago Blackhawks, who won in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.
Alex Ovechkin didn't record a point and remains tied with Alexander Mogilny for second in scoring for Russian-born players in NHL history. Sergei Fedorov is first with 1,179 points, and Ovechkin and Mogilny have 1,032 each.
Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist, and Mikko Rantanen and Matt Nieto scored goals for Colorado. The Avalanche (20-53-3) have lost seven straight and are now 9-29-1 at home, but they made it close when MacKinnon scored at 4:29 of the third to make it 4-3.
Calvin Pickard, who had 30 saves, came off for an extra skater with 1:49 left, and Eller scored 27 seconds later to seal it.
Carlson got the first goal when he scored on a 3-on-1 rush during a power play just four minutes into the game. It was his ninth of the season.
Rantanen made it 1-1 when he scored his 17th of the season at 11:11 of the first, but the Capitals took over from there. Beagle gave Washington the lead back just 37 seconds after Rantanen's tally, when he tipped in a shot by Kevin Shattenkirk for his 13th goal.
Johansson scored his 23rd goal on the power play when Karl Alzner's shot from the point was deflected by T.J. Oshie and then hit off Johansson at 4:57 of the second period. Kuznetsov made it 4-1 with his 18th goal at 11:03 of the second.
Nieto gave Colorado life with his sixth goal on an odd-man rush at 13:50 of the second to cut the Washington lead to 4-2 heading into the third.
NOTES: The teams played most of the game with one referee after Ian Walsh was hit on the leg with a puck in the first period. ... The Avalanche signed 2016 first-round draft pick Tyler Jost to an entry-level contract on Wednesday. ... Colorado is 1-for-24 on the power play over its past nine games.