NIC DOWD

Alex Ovechkin had a hat trick to lead the Washington Capitals to a 9-2 rout of the Montreal Canadiens.

Ovechkin, for a third consecutive game, was unable to score his 801st goal and tie Gordie Howe for second on the NHL career list. Even without a goal from Ovechkin, the Capitals will take the victory on Orlov’s goal with 21.3 seconds left in 3-on-3 overtime, especially after playing without winger T.J. Oshie. Ovechkin started the rally by setting up Dowd’s first of back-to-back goals in the second period, the succession of which are the second-fastest by a player in franchise history. After the Red Wings reclaimed the lead early in the third period with Ovechkin on the ice, defenseman Erik Gustafsson scored just 70 seconds later to pull Washington even again. Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren stopped 16 of the 19 shots he faced in his eighth consecutive start.

Carter Verhaeghe scored the overtime winner to send the Panthers to the second round by beating the Washington Capitals 4-3 in Game 6.

The Carolina Hurricanes gave the Washington Capitals something to think about if the division rivals meet in the playoffs.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 20th goal of the season and the 750th of his NHL career to help the Washington Capitals beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 and snap a two-game skid.

Garnet Hathaway scored his third goal in two games, Alex Ovechkin added two assists and the Washington Capitals spoiled Sidney Crosby’s return, routing the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-1.

Zach Fucale became the first goaltender in Capitals history to post a shutout in his NHL debut, stopping 21 shots as Washington beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-0.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 741st career goal to tie Brett Hull for fourth on the NHL’s all-time list and help the Washington Capitals to a 5-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves, Anthony Cirelli had a goal and two assists, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat Washington 3-2 to end the Capitals’ eight-game season-opening point streak.

Robby Fabbri tied it early in the third period, captain Dylan Larkin scored in overtime and the Detroit Red Wings came back to beat the Washington Capitals 3-2.

Craig Smith scored 5:48 into the second overtime to give the Boston Bruins a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals and a 2-1 lead in their East Division first-round playoff series.

After two games that saw both the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins pick up wins in overtime, the East Division Semifinal heads up to New England for game three on Wednesday night. Washington’s Nic Dowd played the overtime hero in game one on Saturday night, and then the Bruins and Capitals tangled for another exciting clash on Monday. It sets up a very important game three at TD Garden up in Boston, especially since the Caps have shown they can beat the Bruins on the road. This season, Washington won twice up in Boston, and are 4-3 in Beantown dating back to the 2018-19 season. What: NHL PlayoffsWho: (2) Washington Capitals vs. (3) Boston Bruins (Series tied 1-1)When: Wednesday, May 19Time: 6:30 p.m.

Nic Dowd deflected in T.

Michael Raffl scored from a tight angle with 1.8 seconds remaining, Alex Ovechkin saw his first extended action in a couple weeks and the Washington Capitals beat the short-handed Boston Bruins 2-1 in the teams’ regular season finale.

Daniel Sprong scored twice in injured Alex Ovechkin's place on Washington’s top line , Ilya Samsonov made 21 saves and the Capitals beat the New York Islanders 6-3.

Washington Capitals right wing Garnet Hathaway (21) scores a goal past New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (29) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)NEWARK, N.J. – Garnet Hathaway and Daniel Sprong scored in the opening 5:06, the streaking Washington Capitals built a big lead and held off the slumping New Jersey Devils 5-2 on Saturday. Nico Hischier and Pavel Zacha each scored for the second consecutive game for New Jersey, which has lost four of five. The Capitals, who rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat New Jersey last Sunday, learned from that game and started fast. Vanecek, playing in his 16th game, made at least three good saves early in the third period to keep Washington ahead. NOTES: The Devils presented C Travis Zajac a silver stick before the game for playing his 1,000th game last weekend.

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)WASHINGTON – Jakub Vrana had a goal and an assist, Vitek Vanecek made 24 saves through overtime and the short-handed Washington Capitals beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 in a shootout Friday night in their home opener. Vanecek was perfect in the shootout to pick up his second victory of the season as defenseman John Carlson scored the shootout winner. Buffalo rookie Dylan Cozens scored his first NHL goal on a top-shelf snipe past Vanecek in the second period. Eric Staal and Riley Sheahan each scored his first goal since joining the Sabres. Linus Ullmark made 29 saves and was spotless in the shootout until Carlson beat him.

DeSmith figured Ovechkin would try to fire one past him rather than deke his way to the net. DeSmith stayed upright as Ovechkin closed in and felt the familiar smack of rubber hitting him and not the net. “I thought our guys played hard in the second and third against a really good team,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. While Sullivan remains confident Jarry will be fine, he turned to DeSmith to help get Pittsburgh going. Washington went 1 for 4 on the power play, a tap-in goal by Backstrom in the second that gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead.