Capitals use 3rd-period comeback to hand Rangers 4th loss in row

Nic Dowd and T.J. Oshie scored 1:53 apart in the third period, rallying the Washington Capitals to a 3-2 win against the New York Rangers at Capital One Arena in Washington on Saturday.

Dowd tied it 2-2 at 6:36 by tipping a shot from Evgeny Kuznetsov, who drove around the net for a backhand out front, before Oshie tapped in a backdoor pass from Dylan Strome to put Washington ahead 3-2 at 8:29.

"I think there's a lot of character in the room," said Oshie, who has two goals in three games since starting the season with one in the first 20. "There has been a big learning curve with systems and guys' individual play, a lot of cold streaks, if you will. I think, through all of that, we're starting to develop a little bit of resiliency that really goes a long way down the stretch here, when everyone's fighting for every point. 

"Tonight was no different, bouncing back from our last game (4-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday), where we didn't play how we wanted to. ... It builds a lot of confidence to know that, you stick with your game, you're going to be able to pull it out at the end of the night."

Anthony Mantha scored, and Charlie Lindgren made 25 saves for the Capitals (20-14-6), who had lost three of four and played without forward Alex Ovechkin (lower-body injury) for the first time this season.

Adam Fox scored twice, and Jonathan Quick made 18 saves for the Rangers (26-13-2), who have lost four straight (0-3-1) and five of six in January (1-4-1).

"This one's a little bit different for me," New York coach Peter Laviolette said. "I thought we were, for the most part, pretty tight defensively. They had two chances in the third. They threw two pucks from the side of the net, and they ended up in.

"The previous games, we generated just a ton of offense and just gave up a little bit too much. They're different. But it doesn't matter. We've got to win a game tomorrow, and that's the bottom line."

The Rangers and Capitals will play again at Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday (1 p.m. ET; MNMT, NHLN, MSG, SN).

"Just keep playing through it. It's a long season," Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said. "We're not playing terrible hockey. We're getting good looks. We're giving up a little too much, I think, the quality of chances. We know that, but we're going to keep battling through it. It is what it is."

Fox put the Rangers in front 1-0 at 13:23 of the first period. He attempted a centering pass to Mika Zibanejad that went back to him off the skate of Washington defenseman Nick Jensen. Fox then shot into an open left side of the net with Lindgren out of position.

Mantha tied it 1-1 on a breakaway at 17:50, blocking a shot from K'Andre Miller before taking a pass from Connor McMichael and scoring his 12th of the season on a backhand.

"I liked a lot of things we did," Washington coach Spencer Carbery said. "I liked our game overall. There's a second-period stretch that got away from us a little bit, but the start was great. Third period was obviously great. ... Felt like there was more sustained, more applied pressure from us controlling play for long stretches."

Fox gave New York a 2-1 lead at 5:15 of the second period with his seventh goal this season and fourth in four games, a slap shot through traffic from the point off a turnover by McMichael.

"It slipped away from us, for sure," Fox said. "It's obviously frustrating right now, 2-1 lead going into the third. Gave them some chances that they capitalized on. Like I said, just frustrating."

NOTES: Capitals forward Tom Wilson wore a full shield after missing the previous game with a broken nose sustained in a 4-3 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday. He did not have a shot on goal in 15:08 of ice time. ... Zibanejad had four shots on goal in 22:29 after being a late scratch for a 5-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday because of an illness. ... Fox scored two goals in a game for the second time in the NHL and first since Jan. 19, 2022, against the Toronto Maple Leafs. ... Washington was 1-8-0 without Ovechkin last season. There is an "outside chance" that Ovechkin plays against New York on Sunday, Carbery said.