Capitals score six points, Devils end winning streak with three

NEWARK, NJ– Alex Ovechkin scored in a four-goal second half for the Washington Capitals, who defeated the New Jersey Devils 6-3 at the Prudential Center on Monday.

Nick Jensen, Garnet Hathaway and Aliaksei Protas each had a goal and an assist, and Charlie Lindgren made 38 saves in his first win for the Capitals (4-3-0).

Ovechkin gave Washington a 4-1 power play lead and overtook Gordie Howe for second place on the NHL game-winning list with 122 goals. Jaromir Jagr is in first place with 135.

“Of course it’s pretty cool to be in this company and to overtake these legends. … It’s a pretty cool moment,” Ovechkin said.

Washington coach Peter Laviolette said of Ovechkin: “Someone gives you a piece of paper about every milestone he passes every night. It’s incredible. He could just keep contributing offensively and scoring goals. I think if you do it well enough and for a long time enough, you’re going to topple some milestones, so we give a quick salute at the end of the game when things like that happen, but this is a pretty impressive milestone.”

Video: WSH@NJD: Ovechkin tears PPG home to extend lead

With the Capitals leading 5-3, Lindgren made a sweeping right-pad save Yegor Sharangovich at the left post at 1:44 p.m. of the third period.

“I just loved being here,” said Lindgren, who signed a three-year, $3.3 million contract ($1.1 million average annual value) as a free agent on July 13. The First Victory Feels great on. Our boys deserve it.”

John Marino had two assists for the Devils (3-3-0) who ended their three-game winning streak. Mackenzie Blackwood allowed five goals from 18 shots before being substituted Vitek Vanecek (three saves) to start the third period.

“If you don’t play 60 minutes, it’s hard to win games in this league,” said the New Jersey captain Nico Hischier said. “We had trouble finding our legs and they made us pay for it.”

Nathan Bastian gave the Devils a 1-0 lead after 4:49 of the first period when he controlled his own rebound off the right post and scored his first goal of the season.

Nick Dowd 1:46 made it 1:1 with a shot at the right post.

Hathaway struck from the left circle for a 2-1 lead at 9:16 of the second after a giveaway along the left half boards. Conor Sheary pushed it to 3-1 with a shorthanded goal 47 seconds later at 10:03 after stealing the puck at the Devils blue line.

“They had four guys back and I just saw it [Jesper Bratt] Looking up some kind of ice to do a stretch pass and I just read it,” Sheary said. “I had a breakaway from there, so I just took advantage of a mistake on her end.”

Video: WSH@NJD: Sheary lifts pass and snaps home SHG

Ovechkin extended the lead to 17:14 with a one-timer from the left circle, Jensen scored 33 seconds later for a 5:1 lead to 17:47.

“If nobody comes out to block it, it’s him against the keeper,” Sheary said. “He’s done it so many times. It was always a scary shot for him. It’s good to see how it goes for him and hopefully that gets him rolling.”

Ovechkin has 783 goals and is close to overtaking Howe (786) four times by one franchise in NHL history.

“They score a power play goal and we concede a shorthanded goal that cost us a lot of money,” said New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff. “That was the difference in the game. I think we lost momentum where we could have gained more in the second period. We lost it.”

Tomas Tatar scored a rebound at the right post to draw the Devils 5-2 at 4:08 of the third.

Bratt reduced 9:06 to 5:3 and extended his season-opening scoring streak to six games (nine points; one goal, eight assists).

Protas scored 16:11 to make it 6:3.

“I would say that our start to the season was not good [0-2-0], but at the moment we’ve been fighting through some injuries,” said Ovechkin, the Washington captain. “Different guys reinforce the line-up. We have been there before. The most important thing for us right now is to get points and try to play smart and easy.”

REMARKS: Sheary scored his first shorthanded goal in 456 NHL games. … Ovechkin scored his 397th away goal and is six goals clear of Wayne Gretzky (402) for the best goal in NHL history. … Hischier had four shots on target and was 15-to-26 in faceoffs (58 percent) in 21:22 ice time. … Vanecek was acquired in a trade with the Capitals on July 8.