Ovechkin scores 873rd career goal, Frank gets 1st as Capitals beat Predators 4-1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Alex Ovechkin had a goal and an assist, Ethen Frank got his first NHL goal and the Washington Capitals beat the Nashville Predators 4-1 on Saturday night.

Tom Wilson and Andrew Mangiapane also scored for the Capitals. Logan Thompson stopped 32 shots as the Capitals won for the second time in three games.

Filip Forsberg scored and Juuse Saros made 12 saves for the Predators, who have lost two straight.

One day after getting an assist in his NHL debut, Frank gathered a stretch pass from Matt Roy at the Nashville blue line and drove down the right side before beating Saros with a wrist shot from the lower part of the right faceoff circle at 8:30 of the third period to put the Capitals up 2-1.

Mangiapane made it 3-1 with 5:06 remaining, and Ovechkin scored career goal No. 873 with an empty-netter with 58 seconds left after blocking a shot and going the length of the ice. Ovechkin is 21 goals shy of tying Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career record.

Wilson scored the game’s first goal at 9:03 of the second period.

Forsberg tied it with 3:46 remaining in the second. After going 18 games without scoring, Forsberg has goals in consecutive games.

Takeaways

Capitals: Washington extended its point streak to seven games (4-0-3).

Predators: Nashville allowed a season-low 16 shots on goal, with Washington beating Saros three times on 15 shots.

Key moment

Less than a minute after Wilson gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead, Thompson made a sweeping glove save on Jonathan Marchessault from the left side on a 2-on-1 rush by the Predators for his best save of the game.

Key stat

Wilson’s power-play goal was his team-leading ninth man-advantage goal of the season. Strome’s assist was histeam-high 19th power-play point.

Up next

Capitals host Anaheim on Tuesday, and Predators host Vegas.

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

By JIM DIAMOND
Associated Press