Capitals cap 2-goal comeback with OT win over Tampa

Dmitry Orlov scored the game-winner in overtime to cap a two-point game as the host Washington Capitals erased a third-period deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 Friday night.

Orlov became the hero 3:03 into overtime when he ripped a high short-side shot home for his second goal of the season. Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby made 27 saves for the win, while T.J. Oshie collected three assists.

The Capitals got to OT by erasing a 3-1 deficit in the third. First, Jakub Vrana made it one-goal game when he slipped a sharp-angled shot into the net at 3:45 of the period. It was so tight, even Vrana did not immediately realize he had scored.

Then, Alex Ovechkin’s power-play goal, a patented one-timer from the top of the left circle, tied the game at 11:36. It’s the 675th goal of his career and 255th man-advantage marker, which ties him with Teemu Selanne for third on the league’s all-time list.

For the first two-plus periods, however, the Lightning appeared to have the game in hand. Brayden Point opened the scoring with his 100th career goal, a power-play marker with 70 seconds remaining in the first period, and Mikhail Sergachev doubled the lead with technique not often seen from a defenseman. Sergachev worked his way down to the net and was on the spot for a loose puck to easily deposit 4:28 into the second period.

Evgeny Kuznetsov replied for the Capitals 49 seconds later with a power-play goal of his own. But before the second period was over, Alex Killorn restored Tampa Bay’s two-goal edge. Upon taking a pass from Point, Killorn rifled a top-corner wrister from the right faceoff dot to make it a 3-1 game.

Nikita Kucherov netted three assists for the Lightning, who received a 31-save performance from goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. Tampa Bay also had captain Steven Stamkos back in the lineup after he missed three games due to injury.

—Field Level Media