Nashville, TN (SportsNetwork.com) - Barry Trotz received a warm welcome back from the Bridgestone Arena crowd in his return to Nashville. His former team didnt quite return the generosity, however. James Neal scored his second goal of the night with 1:40 remaining, capping a furious late comeback from the Predators that produced a 4-3 triumph over Trotzs Washington Capitals. Nashville overcame a 3-2 deficit by scoring twice in the final 4 1/2 minutes, with Mattias Ekholm netting the equalizer on a power play to help the Predators to their first five-game win streak in three years. Trotz was behind the bench for that run, as well as many others while serving as the Predators head coach for the franchises first 15 seasons of existence. That tenure came to an end when he was fired at the conclusion of the 2013-14 campaign, shortly before taking over in Washington. Seth Jones added a goal and an assist for Nashville, while Carter Hutton came up with 31 saves in his first start since the Predators announced standout goaltender Pekka Rinne would miss 3-to-5 weeks with a sprained knee. Alex Ovechkin notched a pair of goals in the loss, which halted a stretch of 10 straight games of recording at least one point for the Caps. Braden Holtby finished with 26 saves. Marcus Johanssons power-play tally 2:38 into the third period gave Washington a 3-2 edge, but a costly tripping penalty to Capitals defenseman John Carlson with 5:14 remaining enabled Nashville to draw back even. Ekholm fired a wrister past Holtbys glove hand on the resulting 5-on-4 to even the contest, and Neal made Washington pay for a defensive miscue in its own end less than three minutes later. Neal intercepted a clearing attempt by the Caps Matt Niskanen before slipping the puck between Holtbys pads while in all alone for the eventual game- winner. Trotz took several bows to the home crowd after receiving a standing ovation as a video tribute aired during the games first timeout, though his new team trailed 2-0 early in the second period before battling back to take the lead. Jones registered the games first goal with a long wrist shot that got through traffic with 3:44 left in the opening period, and Neal made it a 2-0 Nashville lead just 1:50 into the second. The Predators Victor Bartley threw the puck toward the Washington net to set up the second goal, with Mike Fisher steering the pass right to an uncovered Neal for a tap-in into an open right side. Ovechkin quickly brought the Capitals back, however, by scoring twice within a span of just over 2 1/2 minutes later in the period. The star sniper rifled in a bad-angle attempt from the left of the Nashville net off a Karl Alzner give with 3:46 elapsed in the second. Ovechkin struck again 6:18 in with Ekholm in the box for a tripping call, one-timing a feed from Mike Green past Hutton to knot the score at 2-2. Game Notes Washington had gone 7-0-2 over its previous nine games, while Nashville improved to 8-0-2 in its last 10 ... Nashvilles last five-game win streak took place from Jan. 19-31, 2012 ... The Predators set a new franchise record by recording their 30th win in their 43rd game of the season, bettering the mark of 44 games set by Trotzs 2006-07 squad ... Ovechkin has scored eight goals in his last nine outings ... Green finished with two assists ... Washington went 2-of-3 on the power play while the Preds ended 1-of-4. Custom Memphis Grizzlies Jerseys . - San Diego Padres centre fielder Cameron Maybin is going to be out two to three months after rupturing his left biceps tendon during a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday. Lorenzen Wright Jersey . 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With Gretzky paid out for what is believed to be $7 to 8 million, Gretzky may be eager to get back into the NHL and TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports that the Maple Leafs are very much interested in The Great Ones services.OKLAHOMA CITY -- LeBron James sat silently in front of his locker with a towel draped over his head, not wanting to reveal the effects of a hit to his nose that prematurely ended his night. His Miami Heat teammates finished off a 103-81 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder without him on Thursday night. Miamis star forward went down with 5:50 remaining after he was struck by Oklahoma Citys Serge Ibaka on a drive to the basket. James finished the dunk, but he was bloodied and he left the court with a towel over his face. "Im like everybody else, youre used to seeing him like Superman, get up and sprint back even after tough hits and tough falls," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "So we knew something was up." James landed the hardest blow long before that. He scored 16 of his 33 points in the first quarter to put the Thunder in a bind, and the Heat rolled to a lopsided win. James passed a concussion test, but some damage was done. "He has a swollen nose right now. Its bleeding," Spoelstra said. "Well evaluate him when we get back to Miami, but its sore." The Thunder were the ones shaken up after James made his first five shots and scored 12 points in the first 4:11. "It was flawless," Wade said. "He was aggressive defensively, he was able to play passing lanes and be who he is. That was a great start on the road by our leader. It was something that we needed." Wade had 24 points and 10 assists, and Chris Bosh added 24 points for Miami, which won its fourth straight and avenged an earlier loss to Oklahoma City. It was a good step for the Heat, who are trying to catch Indiana for the top record in the Eastern Conference. "You can see the resolve," Wade said. "You can see the chemistry. You can see a team thats gearing up for the second half of the season." Kevin Durant scored 28 points for Oklahoma City, which lost at home for the first time since Jan. 5. Durant has been the popular favourite to win the NBA MVP award, but Wade said James is still in the hunt. "Its not decided," Wade said. "I dont think that was a message. That was LeBron James being LeBron James. He loves the matchup, just like KD loves the matchup. The MVP is long, long from over." Russell Westbrook, who had missed the previous 27 games after having surgery on his right knee, started and scored 16 points in 24 minutes. He made 4 of 12 shots. "Im just going to keep getting him better, and as the season goes along, as he gets more comfortable in game shape, were going to see a better Russell every night," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said.dddddddddddd The Thunder overcame an early 18-point deficit on Jan. 29 to roll past the Heat 112-95 in Miami, and the home fans hoped for a regular-season sweep against the team that beat Oklahoma City in the 2012 finals. Instead, they saw a rare inefficient game from the Thunder. "When you dont have good rhythm, normally the three-ball can get you back into the game," Brooks said. "We didnt have shot makers tonight. Weve had them for a while now. We didnt have them tonight." The crowd erupted as Westbrook was introduced as a starter. His first minute of action was furious and had the fans on their feet. His first basket was a two-handed, fast-break dunk 37 seconds into the game, and he got a steal 17 seconds later. The excitement quickly evaporated. James scored 10 points in the first 3:11 and Miami made 13 of its first 14 shots to take a 28-13 lead. The Heat were ahead 34-17 at the end of the first quarter. They extended their lead to 19 points in the second quarter before the Thunder rallied behind Westbrook. He scored nine points in the final 1:55 of the first half, including a dunk in the closing seconds, to trim Miamis lead to 54-47 at the break. Miami took control early in the third quarter. James scored six points during a 10-0 run that helped the Heat take a 64-49 lead. The advantage grew to 75-53 on a 3-pointer by James with just over five minutes left in the frame. Durant scored seven points in the final 2:46 of the quarter to trim Miamis edge to 76-65 heading into the fourth. Miami reasserted itself in the opening minutes of the final period. Bosh hit a 3-pointer to bump the Heats lead to 19 with just under 10 minutes to go. The Heat won for the fifth time during their six-game road trip. Miami beat the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix, Golden State and Dallas before closing with a win against the team with the leagues best record. "Its good to finish it this way," Spoelstra said. NOTES: Thunder G Reggie Jackson, who started while Westbrook was out, entered the game in the first quarter. ... Durant scored just two points on 1-for-5 shooting in the first quarter. ... Miami shot 76 per cent in the first quarter but made just 7 of 17 shots in the second and was outscored 30-20. ... Oklahoma Citys Kendrick Perkins left the game in the third quarter with a left groin strain and didnt return. ' ' '