Late goals by Backstrom, Steckel rally Capitals past Red Wings 3-2 for 4th straight victory

Backstrom, Steckel rally Caps past Red Wings

WASHINGTON — Nicklas Backstrom and David Steckel scored 46 seconds apart late in the third period, rallying the Washington Capitals past the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 Tuesday night for their fourth straight victory.

Backstrom erased a 2-1 Red Wings lead by taking Alex Ovechkin’s pass and skating by Brad Stuart in the left circle before beating Chris Osgood from close range on a power play with 6:45 left. Steckel’s fourth goal, a deflection of Alexander Semin’s shot, put Washington ahead less than a minute later.

Matt Bradley also scored and Jose Theodore made 44 saves for the Capitals, who have won seven of eight overall.

Dan Cleary and Brian Rafalski scored for the Red Wings, who have dropped three straight. Detroit outshot Washington 46-23.

The Capitals, who had scored four or more goals in seven straight games, were unable to generate any early offense against Osgood, who made his first start since Dec. 20. The Red Wings failed on two first-period power plays and piled up an early 13-0 edge in shots before Backstrom got Washington’s first two chances, a couple of in-close whacks with about 5½ minutes left in a scoreless first period.

Theodore stopped the Red Wings’ first 20 shots before Cleary batted in his 10th goal from a tough angle to the left of the net 4:17 into the second period. Cleary had whiffed on Valtteri Filppula’s pass in front, but the puck squirted out to him and he angled a shot off Theodore’s right arm as the goalie slid on his back into the net.

Bradley tied it at 18:05, as Washington turned two long passes into a goal. Mike Green sent a pass from just inside the Capitals’ blue line to Boyd Gordon, stationed along the left-wing boards in the Detroit zone. Gordon led Bradley, who got a step on Jonathan Ericsson and beat Osgood from deep in the slot.

Rafalski put Detroit up with 8:53 left in the third after two Capitals collided trying to clear the puck along the boards. Filppula collected the loose puck and fed Rafalski, who connected from the top of the right circle.

NOTES: Green’s assist extended his point-scoring streak to nine games, matching his season high. Ovechkin has points in nine straight games. … Osgood’s only action in Detroit’s previous 12 games was 31 minutes in relief of Jimmy Howard in a 6-0 loss to the New York Islanders on Jan. 12. … Earlier Tuesday, the Capitals recalled D Karl Alzner from Hershey of the AHL. … Washington was without D Brian Pothier (undisclosed injury) for a third straight game and D John Erskine (upper-body injury) for a fifth consecutive game.

(This version CORRECTS Capitals 3, Red Wings 2. corrects score in 2nd graf.)