Ducks rally to beat the Capitals

HAMPUS LINDHOLM scored the game-winner at 14:24 of the third period and the visiting Anaheim Ducks rallied past the Washington Capitals, 3-2, last night in coach Bruce Boudreau's return to the Verizon Center.

Andrew Cogliano had a goal and an assist, and Saku Koivu added a goal for Anaheim. The Ducks (27-7-5) extended their franchise-best winning streak to nine games and lead the NHL with 58 points.

Lindholm, who added an assist, grabbed a rebound and fired through traffic from the slot for his third goal of the season.

A potential tying goal on a shot by Alex Ovechkin hit the crossbar and landed just outside the line with about 3 minutes left was reviewed and ruled no goal.

Anaheim's Jonas Hilller had 16 saves.

Mikhail Grabovski and Nicklas Backstrom scored for Washington.

Troy Brouwer added two assists and Philipp Grubauer made 26 saves.

The Ducks rallied to win from a two-goal deficit for the second game in row, while Washington wasted a two-goal lead for the second game in row.

The Capitals managed only eight shots on goal in the final two periods.

Boudreau replaced Glen Hanlon as Washington's coach 21 games into the 2007-08 season and guided the Capitals to four straight Southeast Division titles, including a Presidents' Trophy in 2009-10 when they compiled 121 points.

He was fired after a 12-9-1 start on Nov. 28, 2011, and was hired by Anaheim 2 days later, replacing Randy Carlyle.

Trailing 2-1 to start the second period, the Ducks failed on three power plays, but got the equalizer with 27 seconds left. Ben Lovejoy carried into the zone and, as he was circling behind the net, shoveled the puck in front to Koivu, who banged it past Grubauer.

* At Raleigh, N.C., Ryan Johansen and Jack Skille scored 1:28 apart late in the third period to rally the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 4-3 win over Carolina Hurricanes.

Jeff Skinner scored two goals and Alexander Semin gave Carolina the lead midway through the third period before Columbus came back to win.

* At Buffalo, Ryan Miller made 36 saves and Mark Pysyk scored an unusual goal at 3:47 of overtime to lift the Sabres to a 2-1 win over the Phoenix Coyotes.

Pysyk, a call-up from Buffalo's AHL affiliate in Rochester, scored when his deflected shot hit Martin Hanzal and became lodged in the back of Mike Smith's jersey. The goalie retreated into his crease, unwittingly carrying the puck across the line and ending the game.

* At Detroit, Evgeni Nabokov made 23 saves for his 56th career shutout in the New York Islanders' 3-0 win over the Red Wings.

Kyle Okposo, Michael Grabner, Casey Cizikas scored for New York.

* At New York, Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in 2 nights as the Rangers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-1.

* At Chicago, Patrick Sharp scored twice and Patrick Kane, Bryan Bickell and Nick Leddy also connected to lead the Blackhawks to a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils.

* At Nashville, Carl Soderberg scored a power-play goal and had two assists, Jarome Iginla added a pair of goals and the Boston Bruins beat the Predators, 6-2.

* At Sunrise, Fla., Martin St. Louis had a goal and two assists and the Tampa Bay Lightning extended their winning streak to five games with a 6-1 victory over the Florida Panthers.

* At Ottawa, Craig Anderson made 27 saves for his second shutout of the season and the Senators defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-0.

* At Calgary, Mark Giordano's power-play goal with 5 seconds left forced overtime for the Flames and Joe Colborne's goal in the first round of the shootout stood up as Calgary beat St. Louis, 4-3.

* At Edmonton, Taylor Hall had a goal and two assists and the Oilers snapped a season-high six-game skid with a 6-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets.

* At Los Angeles, Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn scored on Dallas' first two shots against the unbeaten Martin Jones and rookie linemate Valeri Nichushkin got the go-ahead goal on a power play in the second period, leading the Stars to a 5-2 victory over the Kings.

* At San Jose, shootout goals by Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau helped lift the Sharks to a 5-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche.

*  San Jose forward Tomas Hertl will undergo right knee surgery next week, sidelining him for more than a month. Hertl, who leads all rookies with 15 goals and 25 points, was hurt last Thursday in a knee-on-knee collision with Los Angeles' Dustin Brown.