Capitals 5, Thrashers 3

ATLANTA - Alex Ovechkin is scoring goals and having fun. With a playoff spot on the line, he gave the Washington Capitals exactly what they needed.

Ovechkin became the NHL's first 60-goal scorer in 12 years by getting two Friday night in the Capitals' comeback 5-3 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers.
Ovechkin beat goalie Kari Lehtonen in the first period and then brought the Capitals within 3-2 at 11:30 of the third period with his 60th.

``It's always fun to score goals, especially when it's an important game,'' said the 22-year-old star in his third NHL season.

Asked how many more he's capable of scoring, the youngster from Moscow shrugged.

``I don't know. I don't think about it. I just do my job,'' he said. ``I don't think about personal goals. It's just the team. We have to take every point we can get.''

No one in the NHL had hit the 60-goal mark since the 1995-96 season when Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr both did it. Ovechkin's previous best was 52 goals, accomplished in his rookie season of 2005-06.

Nicklas Backstrom scored two goals 32 seconds apart in the closing minutes to give the Capitals a 4-3 lead. Backstrom pushed Washington in front with 3:28 remaining, and Boyd Gordon sealed the important victory with an empty-netter.

``It was a huge third period for us,'' Backstrom said. ``We talked about going to the net before the third period. Every point is very important right now.''
Ovechkin assisted on Washington's final two goals, giving him a four-point night and increasing his league-leading point total to 106.

``I like playing in this building,'' said Ovechkin, who has 14 goals and 11 assists in 12 games in Atlanta. ``We started working in the third period. We started to play well. They didn't have a chance to score.''

The Capitals, who are trying to get into a playoff position in the Eastern Conference, outshot the Thrashers 23-2 in the third period and 45-18 overall. Washington trails eighth-place Boston and the postseason cutoff by one point with six games remaining.

The Capitals won their fifth in six games, while the Thrashers lost their fifth in a row and 13th in 15.

``We've had a hard time, pretty much the whole year, putting together a 60-minute game,'' Atlanta captain Bobby Holik said. ``At least that's one thing we're consistent with.''

Ovechkin's 60th goal also tied the Capitals' club mark set by Dennis Maruk in the 1981-82 season.

After Backstrom put the Capitals ahead, scoring from in-close, Lehtonen tossed his stick into the air in frustration.

The Thrashers carried a 3-1 lead into the third period on the strength of Jim Slater's first two-goal game in the NHL.

Washington, which had won four in a row before losing 5-0 to Chicago on Wednesday night, took a 1-0 lead when Ovechkin scored with 4:42 remaining in the first period.

The Thrashers scored all three goals in the second.

``They don't quit and they showed that in the third period,'' Slater said. ``I don't know what we were doing, but it wasn't good, obviously. It's tough giving up four goals in the third like that to lose a game. They were a hungrier team in the third, and it showed.''

Rookie defenseman Tobias Enstrom scored his fifth of the season during a power play to make it 1-1 at 4:11.

Slater gave Atlanta the lead with a short-handed goal at 7:57, taking a pass from Eric Perrin and skating in on a breakaway against Cristobal Huet.

The third-year center, who plays mainly on a checking line and serves as a penalty-killer, has 21 career goals in 209 NHL games. He scored his second of the game at 16:06, knocking a shot from the left side past Huet as he was falling down.