Kuznetsov OT goal lifts Capitals past Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS -- Evgeny Kuznetsov scored 26 seconds into overtime, and the Washington Capitals defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday.

Kuznetsov won it for Washington with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle after a drop pass from Marcus Johansson.
"Unexpected, right?" he said. "No, it was a nice face-off win. Every time you win the face-off in overtime it's a big possession. [Johansson] made a nice play to me. I don't know what happened. I decided to shoot. The puck hit their guy first, that's why it went in."

Johnny Gaudreau tied it 3-3 for Columbus at 12:44 of the third period, scoring his 14th goal with a wrist shot after a long outlet by Gavin Bayreuther.
"It was sad a little to give up that goal, but I believe in our team always," Kuznetsov said. "Eventually we get the goal in overtime, which is nice. Everybody can smile now."
Trevor van Riemsdyk scored twice, and Charlie Lindgren made 31 saves for the Capitals (27-20-6), who ended a three-game road losing streak in their last game until Feb. 11 at the Boston Bruins.
"We talked before the game how important these two points were going into the break, feeling good, a little positive vibes when we come back for the home stretch," van Riemsdyk said.
Joonas Korpisalo made 30 saves for the Blue Jackets (15-32-4), who have lost three straight. Columbus is off until Feb. 10 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"I thought it was a solid game by us and a few mistakes," Columbus coach Brad Larsen said. "There's some breakdowns, and it cost us there at the end."

Garnet Hathaway gave Washington a 1-0 lead at 5:06 of the first period, tipping a shot by Lars Eller.
Van Riemsdyk made it 2-0 at 14:28 with a shot through traffic from above the right circle for his first goal in 20 games.
Andrew Peeke cut it to 2-1 just 12 seconds later with a wrist shot from near the blue line at 14:40.
Van Riemsdyk scored at 8:26 of the second period for a 3-1 lead. Kuznetsov circled the zone with the puck before a behind-the-back pass to van Riemsdyk for the one-timer at the right post.
"He made a heck of a play and I just tapped it in," van Riemsdyk said.

Van Riemsdyk has scored a career-high six goals after his first multigoal game in 509 NHL games.
"He played a really strong game for us tonight," Washington coach Peter Laviolette said of van Riemsdyk. "You don't expect on a nightly basis to see him popping in two goals, but when he does, it's certainly a bonus for our team."
Eric Robinson made it 3-2 at 11:03 to end an 18-game goal drought. He converted a pass on the rush from Mathieu Olivier.
"The momentum can get away from you so whenever you're able to respond quickly, it's big," Robinson said. "It gets a crowd back, then it gets the team back into it and believing again."
The Blue Jackets head into their break tied for last in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks.
"It was a good effort. Fought our way back to tie it up there, just couldn't find a way to win it in overtime," Gaudreau said. "We pushed pretty hard. We went down early and fought back. [Korpisalo] played great back there again tonight. We had some good looks in the third, kind of took it to them. Tough loss."

NOTES: Kuznetsov scored his eighth NHL overtime goal, tying Mike Green for the third in Capitals history (Alex Ovechkin, 25, Nicklas Backstrom, nine). … Three of Hathaway's eight goals this season have been Washington's first of the game. He has six goals in 14 games against Columbus. … With an assist on Peeke's goal, forward Patrik Laine has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in his past seven games. … The Blue Jackets were 4-10-2 in January; the Capitals were 6-7-1.