Jets prevail in battle of NHL’s best, win OT thriller against Capitals

ARLINGTON, Va. -- The Winnipeg Jets and the Washington Capitals weren’t battling for the Stanley Cup at Capital One Arena on Saturday.

Each team has a long road ahead and many challenges to overcome to get that far.

It was clear, though, that there was some extra meaning to the matchup between these top two teams in the NHL standings. And neither wanted to back down.

The Capitals overcame a two-goal, third-period deficit, with Alex Ovechkin scoring the tying goal at 12:21, before the Jets prevailed 5-4 in overtime for their sixth straight win. Defenseman Josh Morrissey, who will represent Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off from Feb. 12-20, scored the game-winning goal at 1:57.

“It was good, back and forth, two best teams in the League going at it,” Jets forward Cole Perfetti said. “Kind of fitting the game went to overtime.”

Winnipeg (37-14-3) took the extra point from the overtime victory to move two ahead of Washington (34-11-7), which has played two fewer games. They’ll meet again on March 25 in Winnipeg.

Whether they’ll play again after that remains to be seen, but each demonstrated why they might be able to get that far.

It would be entertaining if they did.

“Two best teams playing, and it was a battle,” said Ovechkin, who scored his 877th goal to move within 18 of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894. “It was a hard game at both ends. It was a good game.”

The Jets came into the game first in the NHL in goals per game (3.58) and second in goals against (2.40) with Connor Hellebuyck, the favorite for the Vezina Trophy as the League’s top goalie, in net. The Capitals entered the night second in the NHL in goals per game (3.49) and first in the NHL in goals against (2.39) with Logan Thompson, perhaps Hellebuyck’s top challenger for the Vezina, in net.

For this game at least, the offenses won out over the defenses and goalies. Thompson, who was named NHL’s second star for January after going 8-0-1 with a 1.48 goals-against average, .947 save percentage and two shutouts in nine appearances, allowed more than two goals for the first time in eight starts.

Hellebuyck, who will represent the United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off, won his fifth straight to increase his League-leading win total (33-7-2) despite giving up more than two goals for only the second time in his past 10 starts.

“There was a lot of weird stuff going on, a lot of goals,” Morrissey said. “Obviously both teams are known for scoring, but also their defensive game. So, I think both teams would probably want to clean some of those things up.

“But for just one game, a lot of swings.”

The Jets jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period with Perfetti scoring on a rebound for a power-play goal at 9:13 and Dylan Samberg scoring from the high slot at 12:41. Winnipeg controlled play throughout the opening period, outshooting Washington 13-6 and holding a 33-10 advantage in shot attempts.

After being sluggish at the start of their first game following a five-game road trip in which they went 3-1-1, the Capitals regrouped during the first intermission and played much better. Pierre-Luc Dubois scored on a rebound 1:12 into the second period to cut the Jets’ lead to 2-1.

Although Alex Iafallo put Winnipeg back up by two at 3-1 with his deflection goal 4:03, Taylor Raddysh answered 51 seconds later for Washington to make it 3-2 at 4:54.

“I think once we got our feet under us and we started playing the right way, it was a heck of a hockey game,” Capitals forward Tom Wilson said. “I think we kind of gave them the first period, but after that it was two of the best teams, I think, just kind of going toe to toe.”

Morrissey increased the Jets’ lead to 4-2 by beating Thompson from the high slot at 1:10. But Wilson got the Capitals back within 4-3 with his rebound goal at 7:26.

Then, Ovechkin took a pass from Wilson as the trailer on a rush and stepped into a slap shot from near the right point that went in off Hellebuyck’s glove for his 24th goal in 36 games this season.

“In the third, we got the lead back, got out in front [by two goals] and then we got back on our heels, and they had a big push,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said. “And at the end of the day, when it gets to overtime, you’re hoping for that opportunity, that chance to get those odd-man situations and nice play, big goal by ‘J-Mo’.”

On his winning goal, Morrissey worked a give-and-go with Mark Scheifele, going to the net to receive his return pass out of the right corner and snap a shot in past Thompson’s glove.

“Both teams have a lot of pride and want to show that they're the better team, I suppose,” Morrissey said. “So, there was solid intensity out there. … We found a way to be resilient in the game and definitely you can see why they're such a great team.”

Capitals coach Spencer Carbery bemoaned his team’s mental mistakes that led to goals, including Morrissey’s winner. Even with those breakdowns, the Capitals believe they showed they could hold their own against the best the Western Conference has to offer.

Washington, which has a seven-point lead on the Carolina Hurricanes for first in the Eastern Conference and Metropolitan Division, will face another test when the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers visit on Tuesday.

“We played some good teams out West, but to come back home and have this Winnipeg team come in, I thought we did a good job in the second two periods,” Wilson said. “It was good hockey. I'm sure it was a fun game to watch and guys working extremely hard and trying to get it done. Just a little short, and I think it's nice to prove to ourselves that we can play with the top [team] in the League, and we belong.”