Ovechkin scores No. 841, helps Capitals edge Canucks

VANCOUVER -- Tom Wilson and Alex Ovechkin scored 1:53 apart in the second period for the Washington Capitals in 2-1 victory against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Saturday.

Charlie Lindgren made 21 saves for the Capitals (32-25-9), who have won consecutive games after losing the first two of a five-game road trip that will conclude at the Calgary Flames on Monday.

Washington moved to within one point of the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

“You look at these games, they’re meaningful hockey, playoff-type hockey for us,” Wilson said. “It’s great experience for everyone in the room. We’re rallying together, we’re playing well, we’re playing for each other and that’s what it’s all about this time of the year. If we keep playing like that, we’ll give ourselves a good chance.”

Brock Boeser scored, and Casey DeSmith made 22 saves for the Canucks (42-18-8), who lost in regulation for the first time in six games (4-1-1).

“They're fighting for their lives,” said Canucks captain Quinn Hughes, who had an assist. “There's a lot of desperation going around right now, and teams are desperate for points and desperate for wins and there's a lot at stake. We have 14 games left, and I think we have that, too, but I think we have to up the ante on that even more.”

Wilson tied it 1-1 at 6:01 of the second period after an icing by Vancouver.

John Carlson’s shot from the right boards bounced off Wilson’s skate to Ivan Miroshnichenko, who made a backhand pass across the slot to Wilson for a quick shot past the outstretched right pad of DeSmith. It was the first NHL assist for Miroshnichenko, who was playing in his 10th game.

“He's got a ton of potential, made an amazing play,” Wilson said. “You can tell he's a smart player. As he gets more comfortable, he's making really good plays and good reads and I kind of showed him something on the iPad in Seattle (during a 2-1 win against the Kraken on Thursday), and then he made sure that he passed it to the backdoor tonight.”

Ovechkin gave Washington a 2-1 lead at 7:54 after another icing by Vancouver.

Capitals forward T.J. Oshie, who was playing his 1,000th NHL game, made a pass from below the goal line to Alexander Alexeyev in the high slot. As DeSmith slid out towards Alexeyev, the Capitals defenseman passed to Connor McMichael, who quickly passed it back across to Ovechkin at the far post for a tap-in. It was his 841st NHL goal, 53 behind Wayne Gretzky for the most in League history.

“Great job by [Alexeyev]. That's a very hockey sense play and he set it up,” Oshie said. “It made me nervous. It would have been nice if [McMichael] just threw it in the net, but it's always good fun when 'Big 8' gets a goal when you're out there.”

Oshie almost wasn’t available for the game itself.

The 37-year-old forward left the morning skate with an upper-body injury and wasn’t sure he could play until late in pregame warmup.

“It was a roller coaster today for sure with a little scare this morning,” Oshie said. “It was truly a game-time decision up to the end of warmups. Obviously, it's a special night and you want to play and not make all the congratulations kind of for nothing and postpone it. But I also didn't want to make the team shorthanded, so that would be the worst thing if I started and couldn't finish. Once I finally was ready and knew I was ready, it was kind of go time.”

Boeser put the Canucks ahead 1-0 at 1:11 of the first period, deflecting Hughes' wrist shot past Lindgren from just above the crease. The assist was Hughes' 77th point of the season (13 goals, 64 assists), setting an NHL career high and breaking his own Canucks record for points by a defenseman.

Vancouver controlled play early but was outshot 14-5 in the second period.

“We need to raise our standards, raise our level of execution, raise our level of tenacity and physicality,” forward J.T. Miller said. “It just wasn't good enough today. It wasn't bad, I don't think, but it's not good enough, and every single team we're going to play moving forward is playing for something. … There are no easy games, and we've got to find a way to rise to the occasion a little bit better than we did in a game like today.”

NOTES: Ovechkin scored his 127th game-winning goal, trailing only Jaromir Jagr (135) for the most in NHL history. Ovechkin, who has 19 goals, is one away from scoring 20 for the 19th straight season. ... Washington defenseman Ethan Bear, who played for Vancouver last season, missed his second straight game with illness. … Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers played 19:53 in his return after missing five games with a lower-body injury.