Alex Ovechkin scored his 885th career goal with 9:32 remaining in the third period and Tom Wilson netted the game-winner with 53 seconds left in overtime as the visiting Washington Capitals rallied for a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers on Wednesday.
Ovechkin is nine shy of tying Wayne Gretzky for the most goals in NHL history. His power-play tally helped the Capitals earn their third win over the Rangers to complete the season sweep.
In the extra session, Wilson finished off an odd-man rush with Dylan Strome. Wilson gained possession of the loose puck in the defensive zone and began moving up the ice after New York’s J.T. Miller whiffed on a shot near the net.
Wilson dished it to Strome, cut to the right side of the net, waited for the return feed and lifted the puck over goalie Igor Shesterkin.
Pierre-Luc Dubois scored 64 seconds into the contest for the Capitals, who won their second game in a row after a three-game skid.
Artemi Panarin scored with 6:23 left in the first period and Sam Carrick tallied 8:05 into the second, but the Rangers failed in a bid to log their first three-game winning streak since Nov. 14-19.
Washington goalie Charlie Lindgren made 15 saves. Shesterkin stopped 23 shots and made a sprawling glove save on Ovechkin with 2:58 left in OT.
The Capitals opened the scoring when Dubois won an offensive-zone faceoff, cut to the net and put a bouncing puck by Shesterkin after getting a cross-ice pass from Wilson.
Later in the first period, Zac Jones blocked a pass by Connor McMichael in the defensive zone, then took a cross-ice feed from Alexis Lafreniere above the right circle and sent a shot under Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin. Panarin then tipped in the puck in front of Lindgren.
Carrick gave New York a 2-1 lead on a broken play. Moments after missing the net, Carrick skated to the front, got a pass from K’Andre Miller and swept a backhander into the open right side of the cage after deking Jakob Chychrun.
Ovechkin forged a 2-2 tie moments after fanning on a shot in the slot. Ovechkin scored when he cut to the right side of the net and beat Carrick to the loose puck and lifted a shot past Shesterkin.
–Field Level Media
