Capitals halt losing streak

WASHINGTON (AP) — No one man can possibly replace Alex Ovechkin for the Washington Capitals. So, forced to play without their captain and leading scorer, the defending Stanley Cup champions used contributions from just about everyone to make up the difference.

Evgeny Kuznetsov scored a power-play goal with 57 seconds left, and Washington shook off the absence of its finest player to end a sevengame losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the

Calgary Flames on Friday night.

Ovechkin, who leads the NHL with 37 goals, received a one-game suspension from the league for skipping the All-Star Game. He had played in 214 consecutive games, a streak that began in October 2016.

Facing the best team in the Western Conference, the Capitals also had to overcome a lowerbody injury to centre Lars Eller, who played only six minutes. Undaunted, Washington got goals

from unheralded role players Nic Dowd and Dmitrij Jaskin, along with Tom Wilson, before Kuznetsov notched the game winner.

“I was just in a bad position to pass the puck,” Kuznetsov said. “So I decided to shoot.”

Calgary trailed 3-2 before Elias Lindholm notched his 22nd goal of the season at 12:01 of the third period. Mikael Backlund and Garnet Hathaway also scored for the Flames, who came in with the second-best record in the NHL.