Ovechkin, Capitals beat Blues | The Salt Lake Tribune

Day in the NHL • Washington star pulls even with St. Louis' Steen at 17 goals in '13.

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Washington • Alex Ovechkin won the head-to-head matchup between the NHL's two leading goal scorers Sunday, getting a pair in the first period to move into a tie with Alexander Steen in the Washington Capitals' 4-1 win over the St. Louis Blues.

Ovechkin's 16th and 17th goals led the Capitals to their third straight win and seventh in nine games. Mikhail Grabovski and John Carlson also scored for Washington, Nicklas Backstrom had three assists, and Braden Holtby made 46 saves.

Ovechkin and Steen are two of the NHL's hottest forwards playing for two of the league's hottest teams, but the Capitals cruised after dominating early, scoring on three of their first six shots against Jaroslav Halak.

Sprung on a pass at center ice by Backstrom, Ovechkin sped past the Blues defensemen and into the right circle for a clean look at Halak, beating the goaltender stick-side.

Ovechkin then flicked in a rebound off a shot by Karl Alzner to give the Capitals a 2-0 lead less than 13 minutes into the game.

That left Ovechkin even atop the league's goal list with Steen, who had his points streak come to an end at 13 games.

Kings 1, Rangers 0 • In New York, Ben Scrivens made 37 saves in his second consecutive shutout, and Tyler Toffoli's second-period goal held up as the winner as Los Angeles completed a successful Eastern road trip with a victory over New York. The Kings went 3-0-1 on the trip, winning the final three games.

Blackhawks 5, Sharks 1 • In Chicago, Patrick Sharp scored two goals, including one on a third-period penalty shot, and Kris Versteeg had a goal and an assist to lead Chicago over San Jose.