Oates Reaches Assist Mark in 1-0 Victory

Adam Oates considered his 1,000th assist a family milestone.

Dainius Zubrus scored 13 seconds into overtime on a play set up by Oates to lead the Washington Capitals to a 1-0 victory over the Boston Bruins on Monday night at Washington.

“I talked to my mom and dad all in the last couple weeks, and for our family it really means a lot,” Oates said. “They have been watching me for 35 years, and that’s a lot of hockey games. It’s very special for them and I owe it all to them.”

Olaf Kolzig made 30 saves for his third shutout of the season and 24th of his career for the Capitals, who are unbeaten in their last four games.

Kolzig has gone 134 minutes and 34 seconds without giving up a goal.

“The 30 shots obviously was one thing,” Kolzig said. “But we’ve really, really in the last week cut down on the odd-man rushes against, and that’s been the key to our success. We’re giving teams perimeter shots now and not the high-quality stuff we were used to giving up in the first part of the season.”

Oates, 39, who leads the league with 37 assists, became the eighth NHL player to reach 1,000 assists.

Philadelphia 5, Montreal 3--John LeClair had two goals, and the Flyers scored three times in the third period to rally at Montreal and extend their winning streak to five games.

Simon Gagne, Keith Primeau and Jeremy Roenick also scored for the Flyers, who have not lost since a 5-2 defeat at San Jose on Jan. 2.

Philadelphia is 11-2-0 in its last 13, and leads the Atlantic Division with 58 points.

Chicago 2, Edmonton 1--Alex Zhamnov and Phil Housley scored 1:13 apart early in the third period to lift the Blackhawks at Chicago.

Jocelyn Thibault stopped 17 shots for the Blackhawks, who outshot Edmonton, 15-3, in the third period and have won eight of their last 10 games.

Columbus 2, New York Rangers 2--Tyler Wright scored with 1:09 remaining in regulation to give the Blue Jackets a tie at New York.

Andreas Johansson of the Rangers had a power-play goal before breaking his left wrist in the third period.

Theo Fleury ended his eight-game pointless streak with a goal for the Rangers, whose winless streak has reached seven games (0-5-1-1).