Oshie, Ovechkin power Caps past Wild
SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- T.J. Oshie scored his second goal of the game 1:52 into overtime to support Alex Ovechkin's three goals as the Washington Capitals beat the Minnesota Wild 5-4 on Tuesday.
Ovechkin tallied the 17th hat trick of his career and second this season with all three goals coming on the power play. Washington, which won five straight games against Minnesota and three in a row at the Wild's home arena, has won five in a row and seven of its past seven games.
Braden Holtby had 26 saves in goal for the Capitals (50-17-8). Marcus Johansson added four assists.
Eric Staal tied the game with 26.6 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime and salvage a point for Minnesota, which outshot Washington 30-20. Jason Pominville, Martin Hanzal and Jared Spurgeon added goals for the Wild, who lost their fourth straight game and are 3-10-2 in March.
Goaltender Devan Dubnyk stopped 15 shots for Minnesota, but Ovechkin has been a nightmare for the tall netminder. Ovechkin has 11 goals in six career games against Dubnyk.
Plenty of hats hit the ice even in a road game for Washington when Ovechkin collected a loose puck and fired past Dubnyk 12:29 into the third period. The Capitals were 3 for 4 on the power play.
The Wild finished 0 for 5 with the man advantage.
Ovechkin set up in his familiar spot in the left faceoff circle on consecutive power plays in the second period.
Washington's power play was spot on leading to Ovechkin's first goal. Nicklas Backstrom entered the zone and passed to Marcus Johansson in the middle, who sent the puck quickly to Ovechkin.
Dubnyk went down into his butterfly position as Johansson was passing across and Dubnyk couldn't get over in time, leaving Ovechkin a wide-open net.
The second goal was very similar, with Kevin Shattenkirk providing the set up for the one-time slap shot.
Hanzal's second goal with the Wild since coming over from Arizona in a trade brought Minnesota back within one before the end of the second period. Pominville's shot went off Holtby's pads and Hanzal alertly tapped the rebound into the air and past Holtby.
Pominville's second goal in 20 games temporarily tied the score early in the second. Hanzal sent a centering pass from behind the net and Pominville one-timed a quick shot.
Oshie opened the scoring 11:36 into the first when he slid a rebound chance past Dubnyk after Backstrom's point shot.
NOTES: Minnesota F Zach Parise left the game in the first period and did not return after taking a stick to the face. Parise was hit by Washington F Tom Wilson's stick and was face down on the ice for several minutes. He got up and skated gingerly to the bench with help and went straight to the locker room. ... Capitals G Braden Holtby earned his 40th victory of the season, becoming the third goaltender in NHL history with three consecutive 40-win seasons. Martin Brodeur and Evgeni Nabokov are the others. ... Washington began a five-game road trip, its longest continuous road trip since 2011. The Capitals cover four times zones with five games in eight nights. Washington plays at Colorado on Wednesday. ... The Wild recalled rookie F Joel Eriksson Ek from Farjestad BK of the Swedish Elite League. Eriksson Ek, 20, made his NHL debut at the start of this season and played in nine games before the team sent him back to his native Sweden to develop. Eriksson Ek had two goals and three assists in the nine games.