Ovechkin's OT goal pushes Caps over Wings
DETROIT -- Alex Ovechkin scored on the power play 1:56 into overtime to give the Washington Capitals a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.
Ovechkin hammered a slap shot into the top corner on the glove side past Wings goalie Petr Mrazek for his NHL-leading 10th goal of the season, ending Washington's three-game losing streak and extending Detroit's losing skid to three games.
T.J. Oshie sent the game to overtime with 1:01 left in regulation when he stuffed the puck past Mrazek (33 saves) from the edge of the goal crease during a Capitals power play.
Tomas Tatar scored a pair of third-period goals to put the Wings up 3-2. Tatar snapped a 2-2 tie on a Detroit power play at 12:45 of the third period. He took a cross-ice feed from Henrik Zetterberg and one-timed a shot past Washington goaltender Braden Holtby (38 saves).
Tatar had pulled the Wings even earlier in the period, catching Holtby by surprise when he redirected Dylan Larkin's shot high into the net at 5:24.
Detroit (5-3-1) opened the third period on the power play with Washington (4-3-1) defenseman Brooks Orpik off for tripping. But Capitals penalty killer Alex Chiasson chipped the puck past Detroit defenseman Mike Green at the Washington blue line, sending Jay Beagle in alone on a breakaway, and Beagle zipped a shot past Mrazek on the glove side, his first goal of the season.
After a scoreless first period, the Wings opened the scoring while short-handed. David Booth was in the penalty box for hooking Washington's Tom Wilson when Darren Helm intercepted a pass by Ovechkin just inside the Detroit blue line, barreled down the left wing and whistled a high wrist shot from the top of the faceoff circle over the stick-side shoulder of Holtby 4:31 into the second period.
The Capitals pulled even in the final minute of the frame. After a period of sustained pressure, Andre Burakovsky took a pass from Dmitry Orlov and snapped a screen shot by Mrazek on the short side with 49.1 seconds remaining in the period. The tally was Burakovsky's first of the season and ended a goalless drought of 108:24 for Washington.
NOTES: Wings restricted free agent F Andreas Athanasiou ended his holdout and agreed to a one-year, $1.387 million deal with the team. ... Ron Gardenhire, newly-hired manager of the Detroit Tigers, was in attendance, wearing a Red Wings hat. ... Detroit D Danny DeKeyser (sprained ankle) missed his fifth straight game. ... D/RW Luke Witkowski was a healthy scratch. ... The Capitals were without C Tyler Graovac (upper body injury). ... LW Nathan Walker and D Aaron Ness were healthy scratches. ... Capitals D Christian Djoos is the son of former NHL D Par Djoos, who played 26 games for the Red Wings in 1990-91. ... Washington coach Barry Trotz coached his 1,450th NHL game, surpassing Dick Irvin for sixth on the league's all-time games coached list.