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Ovechkin, Williams help Capitals thump Rangers

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Alex Ovechkin's (l.) first period goal helps jump start the Capitals in a 5-2 win over the Rangers.Alex Brandon/AP

Alex Ovechkin’s (l.) first period goal helps jump start the Capitals in a 5-2 win over the Rangers.

WASHINGTON – Penalties, turnovers, unforced errors: the Capitals might be the NHL’s best team, but the Rangers did it to themselves Sunday as they have for much of this hard-to-watch season.

Chris Kreider scored twice for three goals in his last two games, but the Blueshirts were deficient in their defense, puck management, and decision-making in their third loss in four meetings against Washington, a 5-2 defeat at the raucous, red-clad Verizon Center.

Caps forward Justin Williams completed his second career hat trick with an empty-netter at 18:09 of the third period the perfectly illustrated the mess: A Keith Yandle turnover led to Williams’ shot going right past Dan Boyle’s stick blade and banking in off Derick Brassard’s skate.

An early Rangers 1-0 lead had evaporated with three unanswered Capitals goals from Alex Ovechkin at 18:01 of the first period and Marcus Johansson and Williams at 7:18 and 8:20 of the second. Oveckhin and Johansson scored on the power play with Brassard and Dylan McIlrath in the penalty box, respectively.

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Justin Williams (c.) nets a hat trick for the Capitals, including an empty-netter.Rob Carr/Getty Images

Justin Williams (c.) nets a hat trick for the Capitals, including an empty-netter.

Kreider narrowed the deficit to 3-2 at 17:28 of the second. A door seemed to open with Caps starting goalie Braden Holtby (dehydration) leaving the game at 17:42. But a J.T. Miller turnover led to Williams’ second goal at 4:51 of the third to seal it.

Washington backup Philipp Grubauer held up fine against Rangers backup Antti Raanta, who played a full game for the first time since Dec. 12 due to a Dec. 17 concussion and an 11-game, form-finding Henrik Lundqvist start streak. The Blueshirts’ power play went 0-for-4 to fall to 1-for-26 in their last nine games.

The Rangers (24-16-5, 53 points) fell to 1-2-1 this season against Washington and have just one head-to-head remaining March 4 in D.C. The Capitals (34-8-3, 71 points) have run away with the Metropolitan Division, leaving the Blueshirts in a jumble of seven clubs trying to pick up the scraps.

Kreider has three goals in his last two games after scoring a total of three in his previous 24 matches, but he couldn’t help his teammates build on Saturday afternoon’s 3-2 shootout win in Philadelphia. The Rangers, therefore, still have not won two straight games since before Thanksgiving on Nov. 23.

Rangers goalie Antti Raanta tries to corral the puck.Rob Carr/Getty Images

Rangers goalie Antti Raanta tries to corral the puck.

TANNER GLASS TRASH TALKS CAL CLUTTERBUCK

Vigneault was so desperate to motivate underperforming top players that he started the game by splitting the inseparable duo of Brassard and Mats Zuccarello for the first time since October. Zuccarello told the Daily News he had played like “horses—t” Saturday in Philadelphia.

Brassard started by centering Miller and Rick Nash and Zuccarello manned the right wing of Kreider and Derek Stepan. The move paid off on Kreider’s game-opening goal, a deflection of a Ryan McDonagh point shot 10:17 into the first period off a Zuccarello second assist and Stepan’s face-off win. But penalties by Boyle and Brassard zapped momentum, leading to Ovechkin’s game-tying goal.

Ovechkin went past rookie D-man McIlrath, who replaced Kevin Klein (sore right thumb) after the veteran was injured blocking a shot by Flyers D-man Nick Schultz on Saturday. Vigneault’s new lines didn’t even last 40 minutes. He reunited Brassard and Zuccarello when the second period spiraled out of control.

Tags:
alex ovechkin ,
justin williams ,
chris kreider ,
marcus johansson ,
braden holtby ,
antti raanta ,
mats zuccarello ,
sports injuries ,
washington capitals ,
new york rangers ,
nhl

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