Capitals 4, Wild 3
SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- Much like when a blizzard hits, when left winger Alex Ovechkin starts scoring, sometimes your best bet is to just hang on and hope for the best.
Ovechkin, the NHL's leading goal scorer, scored a trio of them in the second period of the Washington Capitals' 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.
Goaltender Braden Holtby had 33 saves and left winger Jason Chimera scored an empty net goal in the final minute for Washington, which won its fifth consecutive game and became the first 40-game winner in the NHL this season, improving to 40-9-4.
The hard-luck Wild got goals from centers Charlie Coyle and Mikael Granlund, and defenseman Ryan Suter, but could not find a way out of the slump that has plagued them for a month. Minnesota goalie Devan Dubnyk had 29 saves in the loss as the Wild fell to 23-12-10.
Washington led 3-1 in the third period when Suter's shot from the blue line found its way through a crowd and hit the upper right corner of the net, giving Minnesota some hope. But Chimera's empty-netter made it 4-2, before Granlund scored with 3.6 seconds left for the final margin. The latest loss puts the Wild at 1-10-2 in their last 13 games, and has speculation swirling that coach Mike Yeo could be fired in the coming days.
Washington outshot the Wild 10-8 in the scoreless first period. Each team had chances on the power play, and Minnesota had a two-man advantage briefly, but the goalies held fast.
The deadlock was broken early in the second when a fortunate bounce led to Ovechkin's first goal. A shot from the point by right winger T.J. Oshie deflected off the skate of Wild left winger Zach Parise and landed right on the stick of Ovechkin, who was all alone in the right circle. Ovechkin's low shot caught a scrambling Dubnyk between the pads and slid over the line to put the Capitals up 1-0.
Ovechkin doubled the lead barely three minutes later on a power play. This time, a long-range shot by defenseman John Carlson sailed just wide left of the net, but bounced hard off the end boards to Ovechkin, who was parked at the left of the crease. His quick flip of the puck went behind Dubnyk.
Minnesota got a puck past Holtby later in the second to make it 2-1, after the goalie stopped a blast by Wild captain Mikko Koivu from the top of the right circle. The rebound was loose at the top of the crease and Coyle was able to battle past the goalie and backhand a shot into the net. It was Coyle's fifth goal in the past eight games.
Ovechkin completed the hat trick -- the 14th of his career and first since 2013 -- in the waning minutes of the second, popping off a shot that hit the right post, deflected off Dubnyk's back and landed over the goal line. Minnesota challenged the play, claiming the Capitals had been offside, and replays showed Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom corralling the puck at -- and possibly over -- the blue line, but the video was not completely clear, and the goal stood.
NOTES: The Capitals hoped to have D Brooks Orpik back in the lineup for the first time in three months, but he was not ready. Orpik is recovering from a broken bone suffered while blocking a shot in a 1-0 loss at Detroit on Nov. 10. ... Minnesota D Jared Spurgeon missed his second consecutive game while recovering from a bone bruise. He practiced with the team on Thursday morning but was given another game to rest. ... Washington will conclude a three-game Central Division road trip on Saturday in Dallas against the Stars. The Wild's three-game homestand wraps up Saturday afternoon when the Boston Bruins make their only trip to Minnesota this season.