Penalty calls on Ovechkin lead to 2 quick goals as Rangers down Capitals 4-1

WASHINGTON: About two hours before the opening faceoff on Sunday, Alex Ovechkin asked for more respect from the refs.
His day went downhill from there.
The two-time league Most Valuable Player was directly responsible for three of the New York Rangers’ goals, including a pair after a rare sequence in which he was cited for two penalties within seconds of each other without a stoppage in play.
Derek Stepan, Brian Boyle and Ryan Callahan took advantage of Ovechkin’s miscues Sunday to lead the Rangers to a 4-1 win over the Washington Capitals, New York’s fifth win in six games.
Steve Oleksy scored his first NHL goal for the Capitals, who endured a rough weekend against teams named New York. Washington lost 5-2 on the road against the Islanders on Saturday, a game in which Mike Ribeiro and Jeff Schultz each took double-minors in a span of less than four minutes in the third period, leading to two Islanders goals.
One of Ribeiro’s minors was for unsportsmanlike conduct, and Ovechkin said before Sunday’s game that “some refs don’t like some personalities on our team” and are too quick to call a penalty when they hear a complaint.
In other matches, the Edmonton Oilers ended a five-game losing streak by edging the Blackhawks 6-5; the Blue Jackets and Devils had shoot-out wins over the Red Wings and Jets respectively; the Avalanche beat the Sharks 3-2 in overtime; Sidney Crosby equaled a career high with five assists in the Penguins’ 6-1 win over the Islanders; the Canadiens beat the Panthers 5-2; the Flyers edged the Sabres 3-2; the Ducks had a 4-2 win over the Blues; and the Wild beat the Canucks 4-2.
At Chicago, Sam Gagner scored two of Edmonton’s four goals in the first period as the Blackhawks slumped to their second consecutive loss after their record-breaking start.
Chicago set an NHL record by recording at least one point in the first 24 games of the season. The streak ended with a 6-2 loss at Colorado on Friday night.
At Detroit, Ryan Johansen and Matt Calvert scored in the shootout as Columbus beat Detroit to complete a series sweep. Derick Brassard and R.J. Umberger had goals in regulation, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 20 saves through overtime for Columbus, which has won five straight.
Crosby’s big night in Pittsburgh boosted his point total to an NHL-leading 45 and helped the Penguins win their fifth straight. Chris Kunitz posted his second hat trick of the season, James Neal had a goal and three assists, and Pascal Dupuis scored twice for the Penguins.
At Newark, Patrik Elias scored the only goal of the shootout, and Johan Hedberg stopped all three Winnipeg attempts as New Jersey topped the Jets.
Ryan Carter and Stephen Gionta scored in regulation time for the Devils, who won for only the second time in nine games since top goalie Martin Brodeur was sidelined with a sore back. Hedberg made 23 saves through overtime and then turned away Blake Wheeler, Evander Kane and Andrew Ladd in the shootout.
Claude Giroux, Simon Gagne and Max Talbot all scored to help Philadelphia end a three-game losing streak by beating the Buffalo Sabres, who are buried in last place in the Northeast Division and have lost four straight.
In Anaheim, Corey Perry scored the go-ahead goal with 14:40 left in the third period before adding an empty-netter in the final minute, Jonas Hiller made 14 of his 29 saves in the second period, and the Ducks equaled a franchise record with their 11th consecutive home victory by topping St. Louis.
Bobby Ryan tied it early in the third and Andrew Cogliano had a short-handed goal, helping the Ducks improve the NHL’s second-best record to 18-3-3. Anaheim, 15-2-2 in its last 19 games, hasn’t lost at home since the opener against Vancouver.
At Denver, Matt Duchene scored his second goal of the night just as time was about to expire in overtime, lifting Colorado over San Jose and stretching the Avalanche’s home winning streak to a season-high five.
Duchene, who has three goals in two games, wristed a shot past Antti Niemi after taking a pass from P.A. Parenteau.
Officials upheld the goal after a replay review showed Duchene got the shot off an instant before time would have run out in the extra period.
Patrick Marleau scored San Jose’s first goal, the 400th of his career. Logan Couture tied it 2-all at 16:35 of the third when he followed a turnover by Colorado with a slap shot that got past goalie Semyon Varlamov.