Jets Beat Caps, 5-4(OT), In Battle Of League’s Best; Alex Ovechkin Scores 877th Career Goal

Jets Beat Caps, 5-4(OT), In Battle Of League’s Best; Alex Ovechkin Scores 877th Career Goal

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Photo: @Capitals

The Washington Capitals fell to the Winnipeg Jets, 5-4 (OT), Saturday night at Capital One Arena in Washington. The loss stops the Capitals’ record to 34-11-7 (75 points) on the season.

The Jets opened the scoring with a power play goal from Cole Perfetti halfway through the opening frame and made it 2-0 less than four minutes later on a snipe from the point by Dylan Samberg for a two-goal lead at the first break.

The Capitals quickly cut into the Jets two-goal lead at the start of the middle frame with a tally from Pierre-Luc Dubois, but the Jets answered with a tally from Alex Iafallo to make it 3-1. The Capitals quickly answered themselves with a goal from Taylor Raddysh for a 3-2 score at the second intermission.

The Jets once again restored their two-goal lead a little over a minute into the final with a goal from Josh Morrissey, but once again the Capitals would answer. This time Tom Wilson would finish on the doorstep to make it 4-3. Alex Ovechkin tied it midway through the final frame with his 877th career goal. Regulation would end with game tied 4-4.

The Jets won it in the extra frame. Josh Morrissey tallied the game-winning goal.

LINEUP

Logan Thompson (23-2-3, 2.05 GAA, .927 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the Capitals. Connor Hellebuyck (32-7-2, 2.00 GAA, .927 sv%) got the start in goal for the visiting Jets. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin — Dylan Strome — Tom Wilson
Aliaksei Protas —Pierre-Luc Dubois — Connor McMichael
Taylor Raddysh – Lars Eller — Ethen Frank
Brandon Duhaime — Nic Dowd — Andrew Mangiapane

Rasmus Sandin — John Carlson
Martin Fehervary — Matt Roy
Jakob Chychrun — Trevor Van Riemsdyk

Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren

Scratched: Jakub Vrana, Dylan McIlrath, Alexander Alexeyev.

Injured: Sonny Milano (upper-body), Nicklas Backstrom (hip), T.J. Oshie (back).

1ST PERIOD

The Jets opened the scoring with a power play goal from Cole Perfetti (11) with 10:47 remaining in the opening stanza. V. Namestnikov (16) and N. Pionk (27) had the helpers.

The Jets quickly made it 2-0 with an even-strength marker on a shot from the point by Dylan Samberg (4) at 12:41. C. Perfetti (21) and V. Namestnikov (17) had the assists.

And that was it for the first frame. The Jets dominated the period, leading in five-on-five shot attempts, 27-10, and expected goals for, 1.96 to 0.28.

2ND PERIOD

The Capitals dented the twine early in the middle frame with a rebound tap-in from Pierre-Luc Dubois (12) at 1:12. John Carlson (28) and Connor McMichael (21) had the assists.

The Jets quickly answered with a tally from Alex Iafallo to make it 3-1 at 4:03 of the second period. N. Pionk (28) and D. Samberg (8) had the helpers.

But the Capitals quickly answered themselves on Taylor Raddysh’s fifth goal of the season at 4:54. Matt Roy (11) had the lone helper.

The Jets led 3-2 at the second intermission. Five-on-five shots were much more even in the middle frame, with the Jets leading 13-12 for the period. The Capitals led in expected goals for, 0.78 to 0.47.

3RD PERIOD

The Jets restored their two-goal lead just 10 1:10 into the final frame. Josh Morrissey (6) registered the tally. M. Scheifele (29) had the lone assist.

Once again, the Capitals answered. This time Tom Wilson (21) cleaned up the loose change to make it 4-3 at 7:26. Dylan Strome (35), Matt Roy (12) had the assists.

The Capitals tied the game on Alex Ovechkin’s twenty-fourth goal of the season at 12:21. Tom Wilson (17) and Matt Roy (13) had the assists.

Regulation would end with the game tied, 4-4.

OVERTIME

The Jets won it in the extra frame. Josh Morrissey tallied the game winning goal.

The Jets led in five-on-five shot attempts, 54-47, and expected goals for, for the game, 2.69 to 2.19.

SHAVINGS (Via Capitals PR)

  • Pierre-Luc Dubois scored his 12th goal of the season to cut the Capitals’ deficit to 2-1. Dubois has scored five goals in his last seven games. With the goal, Dubois extends his point streak to four games (3g-1a–4p). It marks Dubois’ fourth point streak of four or more games this season.
  • John Carlson recorded his 28th assist of the season on Dubois’ goal, extending his point and assist streaks to three games (0g-3a–3p). Carlson leads Capitals defensemen in assists and ranks second in points (32).
  • Taylor Raddysh scored his fifth goal of the season to pull the Capitals within one. Raddysh has four goals in 11 career games vs. Winnipeg, which is tied for the most goals he has scored against a single franchise (4g vs. BOS; 4g vs. VGK).
  • Matt Roy tallied the primary assist on Washington’s second goal, his 11th assist of the season. Roy has registered an assist in back-to-back games.
  • Tom Wilson scored his 21st goal of the season to cut the Capitals’ deficit to 4-3. Wilson is now three goals shy of matching his single-season career high, which he established in 2021-22 (24g in 78 GP).
  • Dylan Strome tallied his team-leading 35th assist of the season on Washington’s third goal, extending his point streak to three games (3g-1–4p). Strome (15g-35a–50p) has reached the 50-point mark for the fourth time in his career (2023-24: 67p; 2022-23: 65p; 2018-19: 57p).
  • Dylan Strome tallied his team-leading 35th assist of the season on Washington’s third goal, extending his point streak to three games (3g-1–4p). Strome (15g-35a–50p) has reached the 50-point mark for the fourth time in his career (2023-24: 67p; 2022-23: 65p; 2018-19: 57p).
  • Alex Ovechkin scored his 24th goal of the season and the 877th of his career to tie the game 4-4. Ovechkin has recorded 101 points (56g, 45a) in 74 career games against Winnipeg/Atlanta, the most goals he has scored against a single franchise.

About Jon Sorensen

Jon has been a Caps fan since day one, attending his first game at the Capital Centre in 1974. His interest in the Caps has grown over the decades and included time as a season ticket holder. He has been a journalist covering the team for 10+ years, primarily focusing on analysis, analytics and prospect development.

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