Capitals defeat Rangers with two late goals

WASHINGTON-- Matt Niskanen scored his first goal of the season to break a tie with 3:32 left in the third period, and the Washington Capitals defeated the New York Rangers 4-2 at Capital One Arena on Friday.

"We gave up a lead in the third. That game can go the other way fast at that point," Niskanen said. "We didn't let it linger. We just kept working and got the momentum turned and were able to pop a couple goals."
The Capitals (18-11-1) have won four games in a row and 13 of 18. They are 11-2-0 at home since Nov. 2.
WATCH: [All Rangers vs. Capitals highlights]
Michael Grabner and Jesper Fast scored for the Rangers (15-11-2), who trailed 2-0. Henrik Lundqvist made 36 saves.
New York defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, playing at Washington for the first time since leaving the Capitals to sign with the Rangers as a free agent, was minus-3 playing 19:43.
After a turnover by Shattenkirk on a clearing attempt, Niskanen made it 3-2 when Tom Wilson deflected the rebound of an Alex Ovechkin point shot to him. Wilson scored at 18:28 to make it 4-2.
"One of our guys doesn't do the right route … and the turnover ends up in the back of our net," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "So unfortunately it's something that we didn't do as well as we should have and it cost us. And after that, we couldn't tie it up."
Asked if the turnover was Shattenkirk's fault, Vigneault said, "No, it was a route that was misdone by one of the forwards and that led to that turnover."

Jay Beagle scored 14 seconds into the first period to give Washington a 1-0 lead. Chandler Stephenson forced a turnover and Devante Smith-Pelly quickly passed to Beagle, who beat Lundqvist blocker side.
"The first period was something we don't want to start like that," New York captain Ryan McDonagh said. "We gave them a lot of jump, their top guys especially."
Nicklas Backstrom's goal at 11:42 of the second period made it 2-0. The center scored for the second consecutive game after ending a 21-game streak without a goal Wednesday in a 6-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Grabner made it 2-1 at 19:03 of the second period, and Fast's goal at 9:37 of the third period tied it 2-2.

"I didn't like our first period," Vigneault said. "We didn't play well at all, but I thought we responded and had a much better second period. We had some good looks. The goaltender made some big saves."
Braden Holtby made 27 saves for Washington, including a pad stop on wide-open Mats Zuccarello 57 seconds into the second period with the score 1-0. Holtby has stopped 91 of 99 shots in his past five games.
"It was the Henrik Lundqvist show for a little bit. Then in the second period, it was the Braden Holtby show for a bit," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. "It just tells you the parity of the teams. They're both very good hockey teams. You have to weather some storms, and I thought both goaltenders were outstanding tonight."
Five points separates the first-place Capitals and Columbus Blue Jackets from the sixth-place Rangers in the Metropolitan Division.
"You don't know how tight it's going to be around the first of April," Niskanen said. "Every point matters. That was a big win at home for us, especially against a division rival like the Rangers."

Goal of the game

Niskanen's goal at 16:28 of the third period.

Save of the game

Holtby's save on Zuccarello at 0:57 of the second period.

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Highlight of the game

Beagle's goal at 0:14 of the first period.

They said it

"They came hard at times. It's about our forecheck, really. That's where it starts. We had a really good forecheck and holding onto pucks in the second period and it was a different game. In the first and late in the third, we had a tougher time and that was the difference. When they turn it up, they're a good team. They're a good home team." -- Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist
"Our record's pretty good right now, but I think we still have some areas that we'd like to get better at. We feel like we can be an even better team. Maybe some games have went our way that could've went the other way. We're going to really have to create our own success moving forward because at some point the luck will turn." -- Capitals goalie Braden Holtby

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Need to know

The Capitals have not lost when scoring at least four goals (13-0-0). ... Grabner has 13 goals since Oct. 26, most in the NHL since then. ... Backstrom has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in his past eight games.

What's next

Rangers: Host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; MSG 2, MSG+, NHL.TV)
Capitals: At the New York Islanders on Monday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, NBCSNW, NHL.TV)