Capitals win their 12th game in a row

Nicklas Backstrom’s third-period power-play goal -- his fifth point of the night -- broke a tie and gave the Washington Capitals a 6-5 victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday that extended their winning streak to a team-record 12 games.

Backstrom already had four assists when he got to a loose puck near the left circle and snapped in his 24th goal of the season to make it 6-5 at 5:34 of the third. Washington scored three goals on the power play to offset a season-high four man-advantage goals by the Rangers.

Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin had two goals and an assist to reach 500 NHL points. He is the fifth player to reach the milestone in five seasons, doing it in only 373 games.

The Capitals haven’t lost since Jan. 12 at Tampa Bay.

-- associated press