Late surge carries Capitals past Blackhawks

[October 21, 2019]    Tom Wilson scored a go-ahead goal midway through the third period, and the Washington Capitals pulled away for a 5-3 win over the host Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday evening.

Blackhawks center Kirby Dach (77) and Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov (9) battle for the puck during the first period at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports

T.J. Oshie, Nic Dowd, Alex Ovechkin and Lars Eller also scored for Washington, which won its third game in a row. Carl Hagelin added a pair of assists, as he and Eller assisted on the winning goal.

Drake Caggiula, Dominik Kubalik and Patrick Kane scored in a losing effort for the Blackhawks.

Wilson snapped a 3-3 tie with 8:13 to go in the third period. He parked near the right side of the crease and punched in his third goal after a defensive breakdown by the Blackhawks.

Eller added an empty-net goal with 49.3 seconds to go on a backhand shot from the opposite end of the ice.

Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby made 41 saves on 44 shots to earn the victory.

Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford drew the loss after allowing four goals on 29 shots.

The Capitals opened the scoring on the power play 9:25 into the first period. Evgeny Kuznetsov stole the puck from Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith and slid a pass to Oshie as he charged toward the low slot. Oshie buried the opportunity for his seventh goal of the season, which leads the team.

The Blackhawks evened the score at 1-1 at 8:25 of the second period. Alexander Nylander fed a backhand pass to Caggiula, who punched in a one-timer for his second goal of the season.

Less than 90 seconds later, Washington regained a 2-1 lead on a short-handed goal. Hagelin and Dowd came in on a two-on-one rush. Hagelin drew Crawford toward the right side of the crease before flipping a pass to Dowd, who converted for his second goal.

The Capitals made it a two-goal advantage 3:52 into the third period. Ovechkin ripped a one-timer for his sixth goal of the season and the 664th of his career, which is four shy of Luc Robitaille for 12th on the NHL's all-time list.

The Blackhawks pulled within 3-2 when Kubalik notched his second goal at 6:05 of in the third period.

Kane provided the equalizer at 9:58. A Capitals giveaway led to an odd-man rush for Chicago, and Kane scored his third goal on a wrist shot from the right circle.

--Field Level Media

[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.