Capitals’ Garnet Hathaway ejected for spitting on Erik Gudbranson in Ducks’ loss

WASHINGTON —  Alex Ovechkin scored a power-play goal, Garnet Hathaway was ejected for spitting during a heated brawl and the Washington Capitals beat the Ducks 5-2 in feisty matchup Monday night.

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’s 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 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. Officials checked the video before confirming a five-minute match penalty and game misconduct on Hathaway for spitting.

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 55 penalty minutes were handed out as Hathaway was sent off, Gudbranson was given a 10-minute misconduct and Anaheim came up empty on its ensuing power play in the third before Jakub Vrana added a fourth goal for Washington.

Guhle had been agitating much of the night, almost dropping the gloves with Tom Wilson and tripping up Leipsic in various incidents. It all paved the way for a brawl that overshadowed the NHL-leading Capitals winning their second in a row and 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. Ovechkin’s power-play goal was the 254th of his career, one shy of third on the all-time list.

Braden Holtby had 32 saves for the win, and Ducks goaltender John Gibson made several spectacular saves to keep his team in the game. Gibson stopped 26 of the 30 shots he faced, losing for the 10th time in 17 starts despite third-period goals from Sam Steel and Nicolas Deslauriers.