Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom each had a goal and an assist, and the Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 Wednesday night to reclaim sole possession of first place in the Metropolitan Division.

Brett Connolly, Tom Wilson and Andre Burakovsky also scored for the Capitals, who won their fifth straight and seventh in the last eight. Washington began the night tied with the Islanders atop the division.

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Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin celebrates his power play goal along with Evgeny Kuznetsov, rear, John Carlson, front, and T.J. Oshie, right, rear, during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom each had a goal and an assist, and the Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 Wednesday night to reclaim sole possession of first place in the Metropolitan Division.
Washington Capitals' Braden Holtby deflects the puck with his board during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. The Capitals won 5-3. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Braden Holtby made 27 saves for his 250th career victory.
Washington Capitals' Tom Wilson, left, and Philadelphia Flyers' Radko Gudas chase the puck behind the Flyers' net during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Ovechkin opened the second-period scoring with a power-play tally at 2:32 with a wrist shot through goalie Brian Elliott's legs. It was the league-leading 46th goal for Ovechkin, who is four shy of reaching 50 goals for the eighth time in his career.
Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin skates back to the bench after assisting on the goal by Tom Wilson during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Philadelphia got on the board with 11.3 seconds left in the period when Myers netted his first career goal.
The puck shot by Washington Capitals' Tom Wilson, not pictured, gets past Philadelphia Flyers goalie Brian Elliott for a goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

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Philadelphia Flyers' Brian Elliott, right, skates past Oskar Lindblom, left, as he leaves the game after giving up his fourth goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Philadelphia Flyers' Brian Elliott, right, skates past Oskar Lindblom, left, as he leaves the game after giving up his fourth goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)
Washington Capitals' Braden Holtby, left, defends the goal against the shot by Philadelphia Flyers' Oskar Lindblom during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. The Capitals won 5-3. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Washington Capitals' Braden Holtby, left, defends the goal against the shot by Philadelphia Flyers' Oskar Lindblom during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. The Capitals won 5-3. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)
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Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin celebrates his power play goal along with Evgeny Kuznetsov, rear, John Carlson, front, and T.J. Oshie, right, rear, during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom each had a goal and an assist, and the Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 Wednesday night to reclaim sole possession of first place in the Metropolitan Division.

Washington Capitals' Braden Holtby deflects the puck with his board during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. The Capitals won 5-3. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Braden Holtby made 27 saves for his 250th career victory.

Washington Capitals' Tom Wilson, left, and Philadelphia Flyers' Radko Gudas chase the puck behind the Flyers' net during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Ovechkin opened the second-period scoring with a power-play tally at 2:32 with a wrist shot through goalie Brian Elliott's legs. It was the league-leading 46th goal for Ovechkin, who is four shy of reaching 50 goals for the eighth time in his career.

Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin skates back to the bench after assisting on the goal by Tom Wilson during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Philadelphia got on the board with 11.3 seconds left in the period when Myers netted his first career goal.

The puck shot by Washington Capitals' Tom Wilson, not pictured, gets past Philadelphia Flyers goalie Brian Elliott for a goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

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Philadelphia Flyers' Brian Elliott, right, skates past Oskar Lindblom, left, as he leaves the game after giving up his fourth goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Philadelphia Flyers' Brian Elliott, right, skates past Oskar Lindblom, left, as he leaves the game after giving up his fourth goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Washington Capitals' Braden Holtby, left, defends the goal against the shot by Philadelphia Flyers' Oskar Lindblom during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. The Capitals won 5-3. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Washington Capitals' Braden Holtby, left, defends the goal against the shot by Philadelphia Flyers' Oskar Lindblom during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. The Capitals won 5-3. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Ovechkin moved one point from reaching 1,200 for his career. He will become the third active player and 49th all-time to reach the mark.

Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin celebrates his power play goal along with Evgeny Kuznetsov, rear, John Carlson, front, and T.J. Oshie, right, rear, during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin celebrates his power play goal along with Evgeny Kuznetsov, rear, John Carlson, front, and T.J. Oshie, right, rear, during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Braden Holtby made 27 saves for his 250th career victory.

Claude Giroux had a goal and an assist, and Scott Laughton and Philippe Myers also scored for the Flyers, whose rally from a 5-0 deficit fell short. Philadelphia had won 16 of 21 to close within reach of a postseason spot after sinking to the NHL's worst record in January. The Flyers remained seven points out of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

After taking a 2-0 lead in the first, Washington pushed its lead with three goals in the first 5:37 of the second.

Washington Capitals' Braden Holtby deflects the puck with his board during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. The Capitals won 5-3. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Washington Capitals' Braden Holtby deflects the puck with his board during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. The Capitals won 5-3. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Ovechkin opened the second-period scoring with a power-play tally at 2:32 with a wrist shot through goalie Brian Elliott's legs. It was the league-leading 46th goal for Ovechkin, who is four shy of reaching 50 goals for the eighth time in his career.

Burakovsky beat Elliott with a wrist shot from a sharp angle just under two minutes later to end Elliott's night. It was the first poor performance for Elliott since his return from a 40-game absence due to a lower body injury. He entered 3-0-1 in six appearances (four starts) since his return but allowed four goals on 19 shots against Washington.

The Capitals greeted Elliott's replacement, Cam Talbot, with more of the same, making it 5-0 on the first shot Talbot faced when a wide-open Backstrom fired a wrist shot high over the netminder from the slot.

Washington Capitals' Tom Wilson, left, and Philadelphia Flyers' Radko Gudas chase the puck behind the Flyers' net during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Washington Capitals' Tom Wilson, left, and Philadelphia Flyers' Radko Gudas chase the puck behind the Flyers' net during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Philadelphia got on the board with 11.3 seconds left in the period when Myers netted his first career goal.

Giroux then got his 20th on a backhander 10 seconds into the third, and it was 5-3 when Laughton's deflection beat Holtby at 7:48.

NOTES: Philadelphia forwards Jakub Voracek (lower body) and Nolan Patrick (upper body) didn't play. ... Flyers rookie G Carter Hart (lower body) missed his sixth consecutive game. ... Washington has won both games this season against the Flyers. The teams will meet twice more in the regular season, next Thursday in Philadelphia and March 24 in Washington. ... Ovechkin has 57 points (34 goals, 23 assists) in 51 games against Philadelphia.

Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin skates back to the bench after assisting on the goal by Tom Wilson during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin skates back to the bench after assisting on the goal by Tom Wilson during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

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Washington: Host New Jersey on Friday night.

Philadelphia: At the New York Islanders on Saturday night.

More AP NHL: www.apnews.com/NHL and www.twitter.com/AP_Sports

The puck shot by Washington Capitals' Tom Wilson, not pictured, gets past Philadelphia Flyers goalie Brian Elliott for a goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

The puck shot by Washington Capitals' Tom Wilson, not pictured, gets past Philadelphia Flyers goalie Brian Elliott for a goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)
Philadelphia Flyers' Brian Elliott, right, skates past Oskar Lindblom, left, as he leaves the game after giving up his fourth goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Philadelphia Flyers' Brian Elliott, right, skates past Oskar Lindblom, left, as he leaves the game after giving up his fourth goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

 Washington Capitals' Braden Holtby, left, defends the goal against the shot by Philadelphia Flyers' Oskar Lindblom during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. The Capitals won 5-3. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)

Washington Capitals' Braden Holtby, left, defends the goal against the shot by Philadelphia Flyers' Oskar Lindblom during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Philadelphia. The Capitals won 5-3. (AP PhotoTom Mihalek)