Ovechkin, Caps Overcome Flyers

Alex Ovechkin scored the game-winning goal at 1:04 of overtime, enabling the Caps to complete a comeback to end their losing streak at four with a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night at Capital One Arena. Neither the Caps nor the Flyers had won past the 60-minute mark this season, but Ovechkin's goal erased that goose egg for Washington, which won despite never holding a lead at any point for the sixth time in its last seven games.

Ovechkin's goal - his 10th of the season and the 790th of his NHL career - came against rookie Flyers goaltender Felix Sandstrom, the 164th different netminding victim of the Caps' captain's NHL career. Ovechkin is now tied with Mark Messier (164) for third on the list of most goaltenders scored against, and he now trails only Jaromir Jagr (178) and Patrick Marleau (177).
With his 25th career overtime game-winning goal, Ovechkin added to his own NHL record.
Seconds after Ovechkin put a backhander off the post in the extra session, Erik Gustafsson carried back to neutral ice to regroup, hitting Dylan Strome with a pass just as the latter hopped onto the ice. Strome carried to the right side while watching Ovechkin regain the zone and head toward the familiar left dot. Ovechkin swept the Strome feed past Sandstrom from the middle of the circle, handing the Flyers an eighth straight defeat (0-5-3).
"Great pass, obviously," says Ovechkin. "I just have to hit the net, finally."
"It was a gutsy win just staying with it," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "It was one of those games where it seems like you're not going to be able to find that next one; you're pushing and you're pushing, and I thought guys just stuck to it. We finally got one in the third and OT was good."
Entering Wednesday's game against the similarly wounded and struggling Flyers, the Caps were hoping to be able to play with a lead, and they were hoping to be able to exploit Philadelphia's sagging special teams. They were able to achieve only the second of those objectives.
Philadelphia got on the board first, grabbing a 1-0 lead at 5:27 of the first when Caps goalie Darcy Kuemper shrugged off a high Morgan Frost shot with his right shoulder, only to have the puck pop up and over him, falling onto the goal line and in.
Minutes later, the Caps went on their first power play. Marcus Johansson scored early in the advantage, but video review nullified the goal because he kicked it in. Not to worry, kid. Johansson simply scored another goal on the power play some 22 seconds later, nudging an Ovechkin shot over the line to knot the score at 11:05.
Washington killed off both Flyers power plays in the first frame.
In the second, the Caps put plenty of heat on the Flyers in their own end at even strength. Washington dominated the middle period and had a pair of power play opportunities as well. But again, the Capitals couldn't get a shot to drop - at evens or on the power play - despite owning a lopsided 14-5 advantage in second period shots and a 24-8 bulge in even-strength shot attempts. Seven of Washington's second-period shots came on the power play.
Even worse, the Flyers managed to squeak one past Kuemper on one of their rare forays into Washington ice. With 5:27 left in the middle period, Philly regained the lead when Patrick Brown tipped an Ivan Provorov deep angle shot into the net to make it a 2-1 contest.
Washington would have liked to take its chances with a repeat of the second period, but it wasn't in the cards. The Caps took a pair of minor penalties early in the frame, resulting in 10 seconds worth of a 5-on-3 for the Flyers' power play. Washington killed off both penalties without incident, and even managed a pair of excellent shorthanded chances late in the second of those minors, but the sledding got tough thereafter, and the Caps weren't able to camp out in the Philly zone as they had in the middle period.
Over the next 13 minutes, the Caps managed only two shots on net and one glorious opportunity on which Strome hit the goalpost with about seven minutes left. Philadelphia, which entered the game with an NHL best 5-0-0 mark when leading after 40 minutes of play, was keeping it simple and playing road hockey, getting pucks deep and forcing the Caps to come 200 feet.
With just under three minutes remaining, the Caps literally came 200 feet to tie the game.
From behind his own net, Evgeny Kuznetsov carried up the middle with speed, dishing the puck to Oshie, who dragged his back foot to stay onside. Oshie sauced it back to Kuznetsov, who glided to the bottom of the right circle before issuing a perfect backhand feed to Sonny Milano at the back door on the weak side. Milano tapped it home from the paint, tying the game at 2-2 with just 2:58 remaining.
"I saw Kuzy had a lot of space, and I just tried to match his speed," recounts Milano. "I got to the back door and he just threw it in the right spot, and it went in."
"The frustrating part for me is the second goal," says Flyers coach John Tortorella. "It's a coverage that we have gone over time and time again, and we just do not do it correctly. It cost us the second goal."
Playing for the first time since Oct. 29 and after missing 11 games, Oshie was a factor in his first game back, picking up a pair of secondary helpers, pacing the team with seven hits and skating 18:07 on the night.
Jackson Cates rang a shot off the post for the Flyers with less than two minutes left, and Milano had one more excellent chance seconds later, stealing the puck in neutral ice and barreling toward the cage only to have Sandstrom stop it.
In overtime, the Caps had possession throughout, and Philly was never able to get a personnel change. Washington had five attempts and two shots on net, and Ovechkin's shot went in, his first overtime game-winner since Jan. 30, 2021.
"It's an important two points," says Ovechkin. "I think we were struggling. We were in a hard position, but it's a good thing we battle through it and get two points."