Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Laughton (21) makes a pass out in front of Edmonton Oilers goaltender Anders Nilsson (39) during their NHL game on Tuesday. Picture: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

By Andrew Gross/The Record (Hackensack, N.J.)


If, as coach Alain Vigneault asserted, the Capitals are one of the NHL’s top teams, then the Rangers again proved so are they.
Playing one of their better games this season, the Rangers matched their season high for goals and won the Metropolitan Division showdown, 5-2, on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, handing the Capitals their first road loss of the season.
It was the teams’ first meeting since the Rangers rallied from a 3-1 series deficit and eliminated the Capitals in the Eastern Conference semifinal, their third playoff win over the Capitals in the last four seasons.
“There’s no doubt Washington is one of the elite teams in the league and they’re playing real well,” Vigneault said.
But Henrik Lundqvist stopped 32 shots for the Rangers (8-2-2), who are now on a 5-0-2 streak as they passed the Capitals (8-3-0) for first place in the division. Kevin Hayes, Derick Brassard, Oscar Lindberg and defenseman Kevin Klein each had a goal and an assist.
Braden Holtby faced just 21 shots and Alex Ovechkin scored his first goal since Oct. 22 but the Rangers took control of the game early in the second period.
The Rangers were outshot 14-2 in the second period yet extended their lead to 4-2 and nearly had one more except Dan Girardi’s slap shot at the buzzer went past Holtby just after the clock reached 0.0.
The Rangers took a 3-1 lead at 1:53 as Klein scored his third goal of the season on a slap shot from the right circle after Ovechkin turned the puck over, leading to Brassard’s rush up the right boards.
Brassard was credited with an unassisted goal at 6:59 as his intended feed for Rick Nash went in off Marcus Johansson, though Brassard was not credited with a shot.
Nash is still stuck on one goal for the season and has yet to actually put the puck in the net. His lone goal was credited to him after he was hooked shooting at an empty net late in the Rangers’ 4-1 win over the visiting Coyotes on Oct. 22.
The Capitals got back to within 4-2 at 18:53 as Johansson directed the puck into the correct net, tipping Karl Alzner’s feed from the left circle.
The teams’ long-simmering physical rivalry was evident early.
The Rangers opened the scoring at 7:59 of the first as Lindberg deposited Hayes’ rebound at the right post. That gave Lindberg six goals, the most among NHL rookies.
But the most interesting play in the sequence came as the prior shift ended. As Alex Ovechkin skated across the Rangers’ blue line, defenseman Marc Staal stuck his stick into Ovechkin’s midsection, dropping the Capitals captain to the ice. When he regained his skates, Ovechkin yapped at Staal all the way back to the bench, where he then angrily yapped at the referees for missing a call.
Ovechkin tied the game at 1 at 14:57, completing a two-on-one rush off Nate Schmidt’s feed. But Hayes regained the lead at 17:46, freezing Holtby on a odd-man rush with the threat of a pass to Viktor Stalberg before connecting with a wrist shot off the goalie’s glove.
Jarret Stoll, with his first goal as a Ranger, finished the scoring at 10:53 of the third period.