Backstrom skated up the side, went around Chicago's Brent Seabrook in the left circle and beat Antti Niemi for his second goal of the game.

Ovechkin, the two-time MVP and the league's leading scorer this season, got a game misconduct in the first period for knocking Brian Campbell into the boards.

Washington fell behind 3-0 after two periods, but rallied with a quick three-goal spurt in the final period, showing why it has the NHL's top record and also is the highest scoring team.

Jonathan Toews had two goals, and John Madden also scored for Chicago.

At Tampa, Florida, Pascal Dupuis and Sergei Gonchar scored in a 2:57 span in the third period, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 21 saves for Pittsburgh.

Gonchar scored the winning goal at 5:17, blasting a slap shot past Antero Niittymaki from just inside the blue line.

Lightning center Vincent Lecavalier opened the scoring with his fifth goal in six games.

At New York, Sean Avery scored twice and helped New York climb within a point of eighth-place Boston in the Eastern Conference.

Michal Rozsival had the go-ahead goal in the second period, and Henrik Lundqvist made 17 saves for New York. Danny Briere scored for Philadelphia.

At Atlanta, Adrian Aucoin scored the shootout winner and Lee Stempniak had his sixth goal in five games with Phoenix as the Coyotes won their fifth straight.

Phoenix has won 13 of its last 17 games. After setting a Coyotes single-season record with a 4-0 win Saturday at Carolina, Phoenix has 42 victories, one away from tying the franchise mark set by Winnipeg in 1984-85 - when overtime ties were not broken in shootouts. Atlanta has lost six straight, including four at home.

Matthew Lombardi also scored for Phoenix. Maxim Afinogenov and Nik Antropov scored power-play goals for Atlanta in the third.

At Anaheim, Teemu Selanne scored his 599th goal, and Jonas Hiller made 31 saves to help Anaheim end a five-game winless streak.

Selanne gave the Ducks a scare early in the third period, when his head and left shoulder slammed into the boards after he failed to convert a pass from Saku Koivu and lost his balance. Selanne remained on the ice hunched over for a couple of minutes before making it back to the dressing room under his own power, but did not return.

Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan and Lubomir Visnovsky also scored.

Joe Thornton and Jamie McGinn scored third-period goals for Western Conference-leading San Jose. The Sharks began a six-game trip with their second straight loss.

At Vancouver, identical twins Henrik and Daniel Sedin set each other up for first-period goals and Roberto Luongo made 32 saves for the Canucks.

Ryan Kesler also scored in the first period for the Canucks, who won for a second straight night at home after spending the previous six weeks playing an NHL-record 14 consecutive road games while Vancouver hosted the Olympics.

Robyn Regehr spoiled Luongo's shutout with 8:10 left. The Flames are a point behind Detroit for the final Western Conference playoff spot.

At Los Angeles, Patric Hornqvist scored the tiebreaking goal with 3:31 to play, and Pekka Rinne made 18 saves for Nashville.

Steve Sullivan and Colin Wilson also scored in the Predators' seventh straight victory over Los Angeles. Anze Kopitar scored his career high-tying 32nd goal, and Dustin Brown also scored for the Kings.

Wild 4 Blues 2: At St. Paul, Josh Harding made 36 saves, and Mikko Koivu had a power-play goal and two assists, propelling Minnesota past St. Louis.

Andrew Brunette and Guillaume Latendresse also scored in a three-goal first period for Minnesota, which pulled within a point of 10th-place St. Louis in the Western Conference.

Patrik Berglund and Paul Kariya scored for St. Louis.

Avalanche 5  Stars 3: At Dallas, Craig Anderson made 48 saves, Paul Stastny scored twice, and Colorado rallied to beat Dallas.

Chris Stewart, Darcy Tucker and Milan Hejduk also scored for the Avalanche. Brandon Segal scored twice in a 1:22 span in the second, and Jamie Benn added a goal for Dallas, 1-5-1 since the Olympic break.

At Uniondale, Richard Park scored a short-handed goal and added an assist, and Martin Biron made 26 saves for New York. Tim Jackman, Frans Nielsen and Matt Moulson also scored, and Blake Comeau added three assists. Nikolai Kulemin scored for Toronto. The Maple Leafs had their season-high winning streak ended at three.