Two goals from Alex Ovechkin lifted the Washington Capitals to a 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames.

Ovechkin fired the winner from just inside the blueline with less than two minutes left to claim his NHL-leading 56th goal of the season and help goalie Olaf Kolzig record his 300th career victory.

The Capitals snapped a two-game losing streak to move to within five points of Philadelphia for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Kolzig had to make just 24 saves to earn his milestone win as the Capitals carried the play for most of the night in the only meeting of the season between these teams, out-shooting Calgary 34-26, including 26-9 over the final two periods.

"It was huge to get this win," Kolzig said. "It was good to get this game to get rid of the demons from the weekend [two losses] and move forward."

Mike Green assisted on both of Ovechkin's goals, which were both on power plays after Viktor Kozlov had opened the scoring for the Capitals just 53 seconds into the game.

Both of Calgary's goals came on 5-on-3 power plays, as Jarome Iginla scored his 42nd goal of the season late in the first period and Kristian Huselius his 23rd midway through the second period.

Dion Phaneuf added a pair of assists for the Flames, who failed to break a tie with Colorado for first place in the Northwest Division.

"We didn't really deserve any more than we ended up getting tonight," Calgary coach Mike Keenan said.

The Carolina Hurricanes won their fifth game in a row as Cam Ward made 25 saves for his fourth shutout of the season in a 3-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Anaheim Ducks won a franchise-record eighth successive home game, stopping the Vancouver Canucks 4-1.

The Toronto Maple Leafs kept their faint playoff hopes alive by beating the Philadelphia Flyers for the second successive night, this time 3-2 in Philadelphia. Pavel Kubina scored the winner for the second game in a row.

The Florida Panthers won their season-high fifth consecutive game with a 4-2 win over the slumping New York Islanders. The Islanders have lost six of their last seven games.

Pittsburgh Penguins overcame the absence of Sidney Crosby, who sat out the game with a flare-up of his ankle injury, with a 7-3 defeat of the Buffalo Sabres.

Reuters