Thrashers goaltender Kari Lehtonen blocks a shot from Washington's Brooks Laich. (Gregory Smith/Associated Press)

Twenty-four hours before New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur takes a stab at the NHL's all-time wins record, the Atlanta Thrashers made their own history and prevented star forward Alex Ovechkin from following suit.

Kari Lehtonen made like the future Hall of Famer Brodeur, turning aside a career-high 49 of 50 shots in a 5-1 victory over the visiting Washington Capitals on Monday night.

"Sometimes great goaltending stands on your head, and that's what he did," said Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau of Lehtonen. "We just weren't very good."

Atlanta, playing without injured leading goal-scorer Ilya Kovalchuk for the second game in a row, set a franchise mark with its sixth consecutive win and moved to within two points of Ottawa for 12th place in the Eastern Conference with a 29-35-6 record.

"Certainly as a coaching staff and a management staff, it makes you feel good about your young players and the direction that we are heading," first-year Atlanta coach John Anderson said. "There are still lots of games left. We care about ourselves and we care about each other."

Ovechkin entered the game with 16 goals in 16 career games against Lehtonen — the most by any player against any goalie — but was denied a chance to become the first Capital to score 50 goals in three different seasons.

The left-winger capped his first 50-goal campaign with Washington at Atlanta's Philips Arena in 2006 and scored 65 last season, but saw his third 10-game points streak of the season end on Monday.

Ovechkin's next chance for No. 50 will come Tuesday against the Panthers in Florida.

10 shots, zero goals for Ovechkin

Among his better scoring chances on Monday was a one-timer on a power play late in the third period that Lehtonen turned away.

Ovechkin also hit the side of the net with a shot, fanned on an attempt with three minutes left in the second period and failed to get off a shot another time after driving the Thrashers net.

He finished minus-2 with 10 shots, seven missed shots and three hits in 25 minutes 10 seconds of ice time.

More importantly, the Capitals missed a chance to move into second place in the East ahead of the idle New Jersey Devils, who have 93 points to Washington's 92 as well as three games in hand.

They were also unsuccessful in their bid to tie the team mark for consecutive road wins at six, established in the 1983-84 season.

With his 18th victory of the season, Lehtonen improved his career record against Washington to 10-6-2.

The Finnish netminder nearly posted his third shutout in 10 days, but couldn't get his body in front of a Eric Fehr backhander from the top of the crease with 75 seconds left in regulation.

Lehtonen's previous high for saves was 46 in a 5-1 win at Detroit on Jan. 15, 2008. He faced 49 shots in a 4-1 loss at the New York Islanders on Feb. 16, 2008.

Semin stoned by Lehtonen

Lehtonen's best save came earlier in the period when he stacked the pads against Alexander Semin, who was unable to extend his points streak to 10 games.

At the other end of the ice, Jose Théodore, had another tough night in Atlanta as head coach Bruce Boudreau pulled him in favour of Simeon Varlamov at 12:59 of the second period after the Thrashers had scored four times on 19 shots.

"They were creating a lot from the left side," Theodore said of the Thrashers. "Every time there was a shot from the point, they were putting pressure at the net, which makes it hard for the defence."

On Oct. 10 at Atlanta, Théodore was yanked in the second period after allowing four goals on 17 shots.

Washington, which has the NHL's second-best power play, went 0-for-4 with the extra man. Atlanta was 3-for-4 with the advantage.

Slava Kozlov, Colby Armstrong, Anssi Salmela, Tobias Enstrom and Eric Perrin, with his 100th NHL point, scored for the Thrashers.

Salmela notched his first in the NHL at 7:18 of the second period when he cut inside between Washington forward Boyd Gordon and defenceman Shaone Morrisonn and wired a shot past Theodore.

Capitals blue-liner and former Thrasher Brian Pothier returned to the lineup Monday for the first time since suffering a concussion in a Jan. 3, 2008, game against Boston.

Washington was also minus forwards Sergei Fedorov (flu-like symptoms) and Donald Brashear (sprained knee) along with defenceman Mike Green (undisclosed). Thrashers rearguard Ron Hainsey sustained a leg injury in Monday's contest and didn't return.