Wilson scores hat trick, Capitals hold off Ducks

ANAHEIM -- Tom Wilson scored his first NHL hat trick in his 700th game for the Washington Capitals in a 5-4 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Thursday.

Alex Ovechkin had two assists to give him 1,499 points in his NHL career, and Darcy Kuemper made 28 saves for the Capitals (12-6-2), who scored four goals in the first period. They are 11-3-1 in their past 14 games.

"It's a pretty special night," Wilson said. "A lot of great memories on this journey, a lot of great people, great teammates, family, friends. The city of D.C., everyone has supported me for a long time, so it's an honor to play 700. You can't take it for granted in this league, and then to get a team win, a big win, and a good night, is awesome."

Tristan Luneau scored his first NHL goal and had an assist, Brett Leason had a goal and an assist and John Gibson made 21 saves for the Ducks (9-14-0), who have lost eight in a row (0-8-0).

"We're just trying to stay positive," Luneau said. "I thought our last two games were way better; we've just got to stay a little more consistent. I think that's the message that everyone is talking about, just stick together and play for 60 minutes out there."

Wilson scored his third goal off a loose puck in front of the net during a power play to give Washington a 5-3 lead at 14:22 of the third period.

Frank Vatrano cut it to 5-4 with 28 seconds left and Gibson pulled for an extra attacker.

The Capitals were 2-for-6 on the power play; the Ducks were 0-for-5.

"At the end of the day, you can't keep taking penalties," Anaheim coach Greg Cronin said. "It's absurd."

Washington took a 1-0 lead at 1:27 of the first on their first shot of the game when Anthony Mantha stole the puck from rookie defenseman Pavel Mintyukov in the corner of the Ducks zone and drove to the net along the goal line. He cut through the crease and waited out Gibson before sliding the puck into the far side of the net.

"I don't even know what happened in the corner. I felt like the guy maybe didn't even see my stick, a tape-to-tape pass from (Mintyukov)," Manta said. "I saw the lane and I just took it."

Luneau, a second-round pick (No. 53) by the Ducks in the 2022 NHL Draft, scored 22 seconds later after his shot was blocked by Nick Jensen, but the rebound came back to him and he tied it 1-1 at 1:49.

"You can see how dynamic (Luneau) is offensively and how confident he is with the puck," Cronin said. "He doesn't look for safe plays. If they're there, he'll use the safe outlet, but when he has open ice and he has an opportunity to create a scoring chance, he does. It's a nice weapon to have back there."

Leason gave Anaheim a 2-1 lead at 7:51 on a rebound after Leo Carlsson split two defenders and got off a shot from in close.

Wilson scored on a breakaway coming out of the penalty box for the second time to tie it 2-2 at 15:54.

"I was a little [ticked] off at myself after the couple penalties," Wilson said. "I had guys all over my back, so I was just trying to get up ice and make a strong move and it went in, so I'll take it."

Wilson scored again on a power play at 18:39. Ovechkin took a one-timer from the left circle that was partially blocked by Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas. The puck continued toward the slot, where Wilson pushed it across the goal line to give the Capitals a 3-2 lead.

Nic Dowd scored 20 seconds later when he tipped in a shot by Rasmus Sandin to make it 4-2 at 18:59.

"I've been trying to tell myself to get to the net," Dowd said. "It just creates havoc. If that one doesn't go in, at least maybe you've got another chance."

Brock McGinn spun and redirected Leason's shot into the net off the rush to cut it to 4-3 at 11:45 of the third.

NOTES: Washington posted its eighth comeback win of the season, tying the Colorado Avalanche, New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs for the most in the NHL. ... Wilson had seven shots on goal in 16:56 of ice time. … Gibson tied Jean-Sebastien Giguere for the most games played by a goalie in Ducks history (447).