Ovechkin ties power-play goals record, Capitals lose to Blackhawks in OT

Alex Ovechkin tied the NHL record for power-play goals, scoring for the Washington Capitals in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center in Chicago on Wednesday.

Caleb Jones scored the winning goal off the rebound of Kirby Dach's shot on a 2-on-1 at 1:21 of overtime.
"I kind of stopped and just saw [the puck] trickling. It was just sitting right there," Jones said. "You kind of have this feeling, 'You better not miss this.' I just kind of took a whack at it and saw it go in."
Alex DeBrincat, Philipp Kurashev and MacKenzie Entwistle scored in a 34-second span in the second period for Chicago (11-15-2). Patrick Kane got his 700th NHL assist, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 42 saves for win No. 501.
"I didn't think our start was terrible, but I didn't think it was where it should've been and [Fleury] kept us alive," Blackhawks coach Derek King said. "Guys are believing in themselves, they believe, even if we get into overtime against a good hockey team we can win."

Conor Sheary scored the tying goal with three seconds remaining in the third period for Washington (17-5-7). T.J. Oshie had two assists, and Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves.
"Maybe 50 minutes of our game tonight was pretty solid," Oshie said. "Wasn't enough to get us the win tonight, obviously thankful we got the point, but we have something to learn from tonight. When we have a breakdown or a penalty, and they pop one, we have to grab things a little bit quicker."
DeBrincat scored his second power-play goal of the game with 5:00 left in the third period to give the Blackhawks a 4-3 lead. Ovechkin passed to Sheary to tie it 4-4. The goal was upheld after a video review for offside.
"You know what's great about 'Ovi'? That game-tying goal, you see his emotion in the game and that's what makes him special," Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. "You know what I mean? He loves the game of hockey."
Ovechkin made it 1-0 when he scored power-play goal No. 274, at 3:36 of the second period off a pass from T.J. Oshie. He tied Dave Andreychuk for most in NHL history.

Nicklas Backstrom, who made his season debut after missing 28 games while recovering from a left hip injury, also had an assist, the center's 115th on an Ovechkin power-play goal.
"I think the hip felt good and it was just that I haven't played a game in a while, so it's going to take a couple of games to get my timing back," Backstrom said. "But we battled back for a point, that's important."
DeBrincat tied it 1-1 at 13:55, with 10 seconds remaining on a 5-on-3 advantage off a pass through the crease from Kane. Kurashev made it 2-1 on a backhand on the power play at 14:13, and Entwistle increased the lead to 3-1 at 14:29 when he scored on a backhand from the crease off a rebound.
"Definitely one of the louder times I've heard [this building]," DeBrincat said. "Scoring those goals that quick, it's really exciting for us on the bench, and I'm sure the fans in the building. A win like that is big too."
Daniel Sprong pulled the Capitals within 3-2 at 19:18 when he scored on a wrist shot over Fleury's shoulder from the left circle.
NOTES: Washington forward Evgeny Kuznetsov did not play after he was placed in the NHL COVID-19 protocol Wednesday. ... Ovechkin has scored nine points (two goals, seven assists) in a six-game point streak. The forward has scored 25 goals in 43 NHL games against Fleury, his most against any goalie. He scored 24 against Henrik Lundqvist. ... Capitals forward Nic Dowd and defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk each returned after missing four games while in protocol. Dowd had four hits in 12:52 of ice time, and van Riemsdyk blocked three shots in 14:34. ... Kane has 701 assists in 1,053 NHL games. The forward is the third player with at least 700 for the Blackhawks (Stan Mikita, 926 in 1,396 games; Denis Savard, 719 in 881 games). ... Fleury has won four of his past five games, including NHL win No. 500, 2-0 at the Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 9. He is 9-10-0 in his first season with the Blackhawks. ... Chicago was scheduled to host the Calgary Flames on Monday but that game was postponed because of the number of Flames in protocol. It has not yet been rescheduled.