Capitals 3, Kings 1
WASHINGTON -- Evgeny Kuznetsov scored the game-winner with 2:02 left, Philipp Grubauer made 39 saves and the Washington Capitals defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-1 on Tuesday night.
Former Kings and current Capitals winger Justin Williams controlled a loose puck, skated behind the net and fed Kuznetsov near the post and he fired in behind Kings goalie Jonathan Quick for his 16th goal.
The center's tally came moments after Capitals goalie Philipp Grubauer stopped Kings' center Jordan Nolan on a partial breakaway.
Left winger Andre Burakovsky had a goal and an assist, and left winger Jason Chimera (empty netter) also scored for Washington (41-10-4), which is 15-1-1 in its last 17 at home.
It was the first game against their former team for Williams and center Mike Richards, two-time Stanley Cup winners with the Kings.
The 34-year-old Williams signed with the Capitals in July as an unrestricted free agent, while Richards, 31, saw his Kings' contract terminated last summer due to a combination of limited production and an arrest at the Canadian border for possession of a controlled substance.
Center Anze Kopitor scored for Los Angeles (33-20-4), and Quick made 29 saves. The Kings fell to 1-3 on their six-game road trip.
The teams combined to go 0-for-8 on the power play.
A penalty-filled first period resulted in five power plays, but only one goal.
Late in the period, with Washington enjoying its third man advantage, Kings' defenseman Drew Doughty broke up a two-on-one chance when he dove and poked away a pass, starting a Los Angeles rush.
At the other end, Kopitar took a pass from right winger Dustin Brown and fired on net. Grubauer made the first save, but Kopitar controlled the rebound and fired it in for his 17th of the season with 3:17 left.
The Kings outshot the Capitals 19-11 in the second period, but Grubauer held them at bay and Burakovsky got the equalizer with 49 seconds left in the period from the slot. Burakovsky redirected a pass from defensemen Dmitri Orlov past Quick for his 12th of the season.
NOTES: Washington D Brooks Orpik (lower-body injury) returned after missing 40 games. He played 16:43 and registered five hits and was a plus-one. D Taylor Chorney and RW Stanislav Galiev were scratched. ... D Jamie McBain, C Andy Andreoff and G Peter Budaj were the Kings' scratches. ... The game paired the NHL's top two power-play units in the Capitals (24.4 percent) and the Kings (23.1 percent). ... Los Angeles penalty killers had allowed a power-play goal in each of their last five games prior to Tuesday. ... Washington RW Justin Williams had 103 goals and 163 assists with the Kings from 2008-15, while C Mike Richards totaled 46 goals and 87 assists from 2011-15. ... The teams' other regular-season meeting is March 9 in Los Angeles.