John Carlson lifts Capitals past Ducks in shootout

[December 07, 2021] John Carlson scored in regulation and had the winning goal in the shootout to lift the Washington Capitals to a 4-3 victory against the visiting Anaheim Ducks on Monday night.

Washington had lost the previous six games that went beyond regulation this season.

Tom Wilson and Carl Hagelin also scored, Alex Ovechkin had two assists, and Ilya Samsonov made 31 saves and stopped three attempts in the five-round shootout for the Capitals, who lost to the Ducks 3-2 in overtime on Nov. 16 in Anaheim.

Sonny Milano had a goal and an assist, Josh Manson and Vinni Lettieri also scored, Trevor Zegras had two assists, and John Gibson made 26 saves for the Ducks in the opener of a five-game road trip.

Both teams traded one-goal leads in the second period.
 

Hagelin scored off a centering pass from Lars Eller to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead at 3:58 of the second period.

Milano tied it 2-2 when he batted in the puck while it was in the air at 13:35. Zegras earned his second assist of the game on the play, giving him three straight multi-assist games and becoming the fourth NHL rookie in the past 25 years to record multiple assists in three consecutive games

The Ducks moved ahead 3-2 when Lettieri scored with a one-timer off a feed from Cam Fowler at 15:29.

Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson (36) prepares to makes a save on Washington Capitals center Lars Eller (20) during the first period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Ducks nearly reached the second intermission with the lead, but Manson turned the puck over in his end and Carlson knocked in a rebound to tie it 3-3 with 23 seconds left.

Wilson scored the 100th goal of his NHL career to give Washington a 1-0 lead at 13:34 of the first period.

Manson tied it nine seconds into the second period when he pushed the puck across the goal line following a save by Samsonov on Milano's wrist shot from the right circle.

--Field Level Media

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