Alex Ovechkin on Monday night scored a power-play goal and Garnet Hathaway was ejected for spitting during a heated brawl as the Washington Capitals beat the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 in feisty matchup.
Hathaway was given a match penalty and thrown out for spitting on Anaheim’s Erik Gudbranson in the latter stages of a fracas between the teams late in the second period.
Even after the game misconduct that is automatic for spitting, Hathaway could face more discipline from the NHL office in the form of a fine or suspension.
After some off-and-on hostilities in the first 39 minutes, Washington’s Brendan Leipsic incited the brawl by bulldozing Anaheim’s Derek Grant just before Chandler Stephenson scored to make it 3-0 for the Capitals.
Almost all 10 skaters on the ice got involved and Hathaway fought Gudbranson, Grant and Nick Ritchie in a matter of minutes.
Officials were attempting to separate players when Gudbranson rabbit-punched Hathaway, who then spit in his face with referee Peter MacDougall a few feet away.
Gudbranson, fellow Ducks defenseman Brendan Guhle, Ritchie and Leipsic were also penalized for their roles in the ruckus that took referees significant time to sort out.
A total of 50 penalty minutes were handed out as Hathaway was sent off, Gudbranson was given a 10-minute misconduct and Anaheim came up empty on their ensuing power play in the third before Jakub Vrana added a fourth goal for Washington.
The brawl overshadowed the NHL-leading Capitals picking up at least one point for the 14th time in 15 games.
Richard Panik’s goal 50 seconds in was his first point in 13 games since signing with Washington. Braden Holtby made 32 saves for the win.
Elsewhere, Conor Garland had a goal and an assist, while Antti Raanta stopped 31 shots as Arizona beat Los Angeles.
Derek Stepan and Jakob Chychrun also scored, while Christian Dvorak and Nick Schmaltz had two assists apiece as the Coyotes won their fourth in five games.
Raanta and Darcy Kuemper became the first goaltending tandem to post back-to-back shutouts for the Coyotes. Kuemper held Calgary scoreless on Saturday last week.
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