Ovechkin scores four points, lone shootout goal in Capitals’ win

Rookie Alexander Ovechkin scored the only goal in a shootout to lift Washington past Atlanta 6-5 on Thursday night, giving the Capitals a rare road victory.

After Washington’s Andrew Cassels and Atlanta’s Ilya Kovalchuk had shots blocked to lead off the shootout, Ovechkin’s shot over Atlanta goaltender Michael Garnett’s glove gave the Capitals the lead.

Marian Hossa, who tied a Thrashers record with five points on a goal and four assists, and Slava Kozlov had shots stopped by Washington goaltender Brent Johnson to leave the Thrashers scoreless in the shootout.

Ovechkin, who had gone two games without a point, had a goal and three assists in regulation before the game-winner in the shootout.

Panthers 4, Sabres 1: At Sunrise, Fla., Jozef Stumpel scored two goals to help Florida beat Buffalo, ending goalie Martin Biron’s 13-game winning streak.

Bruins 4, Maple Leafs 1: At Boston, Alexei Zhamnov got the tiebreaking goal, his first score of the season, and Hannu Toivonen stopped 26 shots to lead Boston over Toronto.

Flyers 4, Senators 3: At Philadelphia, Simon Gagne celebrated his return to the lineup with a goal and an assist to help Philadelphia top Ottawa.

Rangers 4, Lightning 2: At New York, Tom Poti scored New York’s third power-play goal with 1:48 left and the Rangers beat Tampa Bay.

Coyotes 2, Sharks 1: At Glendale, Ariz., Mike Comrie scored a power-play goal with 17:08 remaining to help Phoenix edge San Jose, snapping a four-game losing streak.

Avalanche 4, Wild 3: At Denver, rookie Marek Svatos scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and Peter Budaj made some big saves in the final two periods, helping Colorado hold off Minnesota.

Around the league

Atlanta recalled goaltender Adam Berkhoel from Chicago of the AHL and forward Karl Stewart from Gwinnett of the ECHL. … Columbus reassigned defenseman Andy Delmore and forward Steven Goertzen to Syracuse of the AHL and recalled defenseman Aaron Johnson from Syracuse.