Capitals edge Blue Jackets 4-3
WASHINGTON -- Alexander Ovechkin scored a tiebreaking power-play goal in the final minute of the second period Saturday and the Washington Capitals overcame some shoddy play to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 in a key Metropolitan Division matchup.
After Columbus center Boone Jenner took his second holding penalty of the period, it took Ovechkin only 10 seconds to give the Capitals the lead for good. Picture-perfect passes from Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson set up Ovechkin's blast past Sergei Bobrovsky for a 3-2 advantage with 38 seconds remaining in the frame.
The 577th goal of Ovechkin's career ties him with Mark Recchi for 20th place on the all-time list, while the 218th power-play tally of his career moves Ovechkin into sole possession of 10th place on that list.
Evgeny Kuznetsov scored 1:08 into the third period to make it 4-2, which turned into a key insurance goal when Columbus' Zach Werenski scored with 3:02 remaining in the game. Braden Holtby made 32 saves for the Capitals.
Bobrovsky made 19 saves for Columbus, dropping to a pedestrian 6-8-4 in 19 career games against Washington.
Down 2-0, the Blue Jackets rallied in the second period to draw even. Columbus took advantage of a terrible shift by Washington, as the Capitals failed to get the puck out of their zone and gave the Blue Jackets several good looks at the net.
Artemi Panarin finally took advantage of the sloppy play, capitalizing on a Washington turnover to beat Holtby and put Columbus on the board at the 3:51 mark of the second.
Jenner's first holding penalty of the period didn't hurt his squad, as the Blue Jackets once again exploited sloppy puck work by the Capitals. Defenseman Matt Calvert, fresh off injured reserve, corralled a giveaway in Washington's zone and snapped a shot past a stunned Holtby to draw the Blue Jackets even at 2-2 with 3:32 left in the second.
The Capitals jumped on the Blue Jackets right out of the gate, perhaps taking advantage of Columbus' tired legs in a back-to-back situation. Brett Connolly, inserted back into the lineup after missing two games as a healthy scratch, took a great feed from Lars Eller and beat Bobrovsky just 63 seconds into the game for a 1-0 Washington advantage.
Just 63 seconds later, the Capitals scored again, as a deflection off Werenski's skate went right to Capitals right winger Alex Chiasson, who blasted a shot past Bobrovsky to make the advantage 2-0 before many people had settled into their seats.
Washington is now 8-1-2 in its last 10 games against Columbus.
NOTES: Columbus activated D Matt Calvert (upper body) off injured reserve and placed D Ryan Murray (upper body) on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 27. ... The Capitals scratches were C Tyler Graovac and D Taylor Chorney. ... Columbus D Markus Nutivaara was out of the lineup and is day-to-day with an upper body injury. C Tyler Motte and LW Markus Hannikainen were the team's scratches. ... Capitals C Chandler Stephenson left the game with an upper body injury and is day-to-day.