Bradley overcomes blows as Ovechkin comes back

Matt Bradley bounced back from having his face bloodied in a first-period fight to net the winning goal with 4:51 left, and Alex Ovechkin also scored in his return from injury to lift the Washington Capitals to a 4-2 victory over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.

Bradley left with 9:21 left in the first period after taking several hard blows to the face from New York’s Aaron Voros. Those injuries didn’t bother him a bit when he knocked the puck away from Wade Redden and raced up ice on a break. He beat goalie Henrik Lundqvist with a rising shot to the glove side for his fourth of the season.

Ovechkin missed six games because of an upper body injury, believed to be a strained left shoulder, but came back with a flourish. He netted his NHL-leading 15th goal.

Marian Gaborik scored both goals for the Rangers and moved into a tie with Ovechkin with his 15th.