Capitals 3, Ducks 2

[March 19, 2014]  ANAHEIM, Calif. — Capitals 3, Ducks 2: Captain Alex Ovechkin broke a tie with his NHL-leading 46th goal — and league-best 20th on the power play — early in the third period as visiting Washington won its third straight game.

Joel Ward scored for the third consecutive contest and Troy Brouwer registered his third goal in two games — with each collecting their 21st of the season — for the Capitals, who moved even in points with Columbus for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Jaroslav Halak made 43 saves for Washington.

Mathieu Perreault recorded his fourth goal in eight contests while defenseman Ben Lovejoy also scored for Anaheim, which remained tied atop the Pacific Division with San Jose. Jonas Hiller made 27 saves but could not prevent the Ducks from falling to 4-7-2 at home since starting 20-0-2 at Honda Center.

With Patrick Maroon screening Halak, Perreault tied the game 2-2 at 1:32 of the third period on the power play. Ovechkin answered with a patented one-timer from the right circle with Matt Beleskey in the penalty box for slashing. Washington went 2-for-3 with the man advantage and is 10-for-21 in its last eight games.

Ward collected a rebound near the left post and slid the puck past Hiller at 2:11 of the first period before Lovejoy blasted a slap shot from the top of the left circle past Halak 59 seconds later. The Capitals reclaimed the lead when Brouwer tapped a rebound into the empty net on the power play with 10 seconds left in the first.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Stephane Robidas, who hasn't played since Nov. 29 because of a broken leg, made his Anaheim debut after being acquired near the trade deadline earlier this month. He was a minus-1 while recording three hits in 13:32. ... Capitals LW Dustin Penner returned to Anaheim after he was traded by the Ducks on March 4 and was credited with one blocked shot in 8:51. ... Washington has the NHL's No. 1 power play at 24.3 percent, moving ahead of Pittsburgh (24), while Ovechkin registered his ninth game-winning goal, tying Anaheim's Corey Perry for the league lead.

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