WASHINGTON -- Alex Ovechkin scored a tiebreaking power-play goal late in the second period to help the Washington Capitals beat the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 on Monday night.
Jay Beagle also scored and Braden Holtby stopped 31 shots to earn his 21st victory for the Capitals.
Alex Tanguay scored for the Avalanche, and Semyon Varlamov finished with 36 saves.
Ovechkin snapped a shot past Varlamov from left circle after passes from Troy Brouwer and Nicklas Backstrom with 2:14 left in the second period. It was Ovechkin's 74th game-winning goal, moving him past Peter Bondra for first place in franchise history. Ovechkin also now has scored a goal in six of his last seven games (see full recap).
Kings shut out Maple Leafs
LOS ANGELES -- Martin Jones made 19 saves in his seventh career shutout, and Anze Kopitar scored in the opening minute of the Los Angeles Kings' 2-0 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night.
Marian Gaborik got an empty-net goal to seal Jones' third shutout in his last four starts for the defending Stanley Cup champions, who snapped their three-game skid with just their second victory in seven games.
Jonathan Bernier stopped 18 shots by his former Los Angeles teammates in the Maple Leafs' third game under interim coach Peter Horachek, who will finish out the season after replacing the fired Randy Carlyle six days earlier.
NHL
Toronto opened a tough four-game West Coast road trip with its ninth loss in 12 games (see full recap).