Associated Press
Alexander Semin scored twice, Troy Brouwer tallied the tiebreaking goal midway through the second period, and the Washington Capitals halted the Rangers' five-game winning streak with a 4-1 victory on Wednesday night.
With the game tied 1-1, Brouwer got tangled with defenseman Ryan McDonagh in front of the Blueshirts net. Brouwer not only screened goalie Martin Biron but redirected John Carlson's drive from the left point for his 10th goal of the season at 10:24.
Marcus Johansson also scored for the Capitals, who snapped a two-game skid by beating the top team in the Eastern Conference. Alex Ovechkin had two assists.
Brandon Dubinsky scored for the Rangers, 7-3 in their last 10 games. Marian Gaborik, tied for the NHL lead with 22 goals, had his run of five straight games with a goal stopped.
Tomas Vokoun made 31 saves for the victory.
Johansson gave Washington a 1-0 lead 8:18 in, but the Rangers used a fortuitous bounce to tie it at 17:16. After Rangers captain Ryan Callahan dived to block Carlson's shot, the puck squirted up the ice -- setting up Dubinsky to beat Vokoun on a 2-on-1 break.
Under three minutes after Brouwer's redirect put the Capitals ahead, Ovechkin's hard check in the neutral zone knocked the puck loose from Brad Richards. Nicklas Backstrom got to it, and his shovel pass sprung Semin, who got a step on a defender and converted a back-hander for a 3-1 Capitals lead.
• COMMENT ON BLUESHIRTS UNITED | PHOTO GALLERY
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STAT OF THE GAME
The Rangers held Washington scoreless in two shorthanded situations (a total of 4:00), and have held opponents scoreless in eight of their last 11 games (30-for-34, 88.2 percent) while tallying four shorthanded goals during the stretch.
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| (selected by newyorkrangers.com) |
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| 1. Callahan |
2. Anisimov |
3. McDonagh |
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[51-24-7]
[42-32-8]