Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals used a fast start to end a perfect road trip.

Ovechkin scored his NHL-leading 45th goal and the Capitals extended their winning streak to four games with a 4-2 victory over the New York Rangers on Monday night.

T.J. Oshie Dak Prescott Jersey Elite , Matt Niskanen and Evgeny Kuznetsov also scored for Washington, which went 3-0 at Detroit, Montreal and Madison Square Garden.

Nicklas Backstrom, who had four assists in a win over Montreal on Saturday, added two more to give him 44 this season. Philipp Grubauer made 28 saves.

”Tonight we got really loose in the second two periods there, they really took it to us,” Oshie said. ”Without Grub, we might be in overtime right now.”

Washington increased its lead to five points over two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh for first place in the Metropolitan Division.

”We’ve still got to keep going and keep getting points every night,” Oshie said.

Lias Andersson scored in his NHL debut and Mats Zuccarello added a goal for the Rangers.

Andersson, at 19 years, 164 days, became the youngest player in team history to score in his NHL debut. He broke the mark set by Mike Allison (19 years, 195 days) on Oct. 9 Authentic Devin Hester Jersey , 1980, at Boston.

”It feels good, obviously,” Andersson said. ”It’s always fun to score and especially in your first NHL game, so it was fun.”

The Capitals scored four goals in the first period and cruised from there.

”I think we jumped in right away,” Ovechkin said. ”I think we had pretty good chances in the first couple of shifts. Osh scored, Nisky’s goal is pretty sick. How he scored, it was pretty impressive.”

Oshie gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead 2:50 into the game with his 18th of the season. Backstrom skated the puck into the zone and had three Rangers near him when he passed to an open Oshie at the right faceoff circle and he beat Alexandar Georgiev with a wrister.

Niskanen made it 2-0 just 2:23 later. Kuznetsov skated with the puck at the blue line and sent a backhand pass to Niskanen, who had plenty of time to score his seventh of the season at 5:13

Ovechkin scored on a one-timer on the power play from his favorite spot in the left faceoff circle at 8:54. Georgiev was pulled after allowing three goals on six shots.

Ondrej Pavelec replaced him and made 26 saves. It was Pavelec’s first appearance since Feb. 9 against Calgary.

Kuznetsov finished off the dominant first period with a short-handed goal at 16:39.

”We talked about this road trip,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. ”We’ve had really terrible starts. We put a lot of emphasis on the first period, obviously. We were able to get their goaltender out and obviously built a lead.”

Andersson and Filip Chytil gave the Rangers a glimpse of the franchise’s future. Andersson and Chytil, both 2017 first-round draft picks and centers, were promoted from the team’s American Hockey League affiliate in Hartford on Sunday.

Chytil centered a line with Kevin Hayes and Zuccarello. Andersson centered a line with Jimmy Vesey and Ryan Spooner and got the Rangers on the board. Andersson cut it to 4-1 late in the second period when Vesey worked the puck behind the net and sent a pass to Andersson Shaquem Griffin Youth Jersey , who wristed it past Grubauer at 13:16.

”It was a great feeling to see him score his first goal,” Chytil said of Andersson. ”It was something special. We will talk about it tonight. It’s great that he scored his first goal in his first game.”

Chytil assisted on Zuccarello’s 16th goal at 4:26 of the third for his first NHL point.

”Both kids had a good game,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. ”It was an emotional day and an emotional game for them, but I thought they played well.”

NOTES: Devante Smith-Pelly, Shane Gersich and Christian Djoos were scratched by the Capitals. … According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Andersson and Chytil became the first pair of teenagers to get a point in the same game with the Rangers since Dec. 18, 1974 (Ron Greschner and Dave Maloney). Chytil played two games earlier in the season with New York. … Henrik Lundqvist, David Desharnais, Peter Holland, Paul Carey and Tony DeAngelo were the healthy scratches for the Rangers.

UP NEXT

The teams play the second half of a back-to-back Wednesday night in Washington.

—

More NHL hockey:

Luke Weaver’s best start of the season came last month against the Philadelphia Phillies. Weaver will try to emulate that success Tuesday night as the Phillies face the St. Louis Cardinals in the middle of a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park.

The 24-year-old Weaver (4-6, 4.52 ERA) allowed just one run and four hits and notched six strikeouts in seven innings against the Phillies on May 17. Weaver has gone seven innings in just one of his 13 other starts this season.

Weaver, who has a 3.00 ERA and 1.167 WHIP in two career starts against Philadelphia, struggled in both of his last two appearances. He allowed eight runs Evander Kane Sharks Jersey , 16 hits and six walks in the two outings (10 1/3 innings), including four runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings of his last game against the San Diego Padres.

“He used everything. Thought he had a real nice changeup, he was smart with the breaking ball,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of Weaver after his last start. “But that last inning, there were a lot of hard hit balls.”

Weaver has lost four straight decisions, a streak that dates to his previous start against the Phillies.

Vince Velasquez, who will oppose Weaver again on Tuesday, picked up the win in that game last month.

Velasquez (5-7, 4.74) held the Cardinals scoreless for 6 1/3 innings and struck out five in a 6-2 Phillies win. He had a 6.30 ERA in four starts after that game, but the hard-throwing right-hander was dominant the last time he was on the mound.

Facing the Colorado Rockies last Thursday, Velasquez carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning. He gave up just one hit and two runs before exiting after 6 2/3 innings and 105 pitches.

“I thought that was as confident as I’ve ever seen him,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler told MLB.com about Velasquez. “But most notably for me was how comfortable he looked in his own skin today. It was a breath of fresh air, and I think when things aren’t going that smoothly for him Jarvis Landry Browns Jersey , if he can maintain that composure, maintain that easiness and maintain that confidence, that’s when he’s going to reach his true potential.”

Velasquez is 1-1 with a 3.65 ERA and 1.297 WHIP in two career starts against St. Louis.

The Phillies are going for their fourth straight win after getting an unlikely walk-off victory in the 10th inning Monday night. Aaron Altherr hit a game-winning, two-run double that bounced past a diving Marcell Ozuna in left field.

Philadelphia’s 6-5 win came after its bullpen gave up two runs with two outs in the ninth inning and the go-ahead run on a Tommy Pham homer in the 10th.

“They came back in the ninth against us, but we still thought we could win this game,” Altherr told NBC Sports Philadelphia after his heroics. “It shows how resilient this team is. We never give up and always fight.”

The Cardinals, meanwhile, have dropped six of their last eight games.

.