NEW YORK (AP) — Alex Ovechkin got his 885th career goal to tie it midway through the third period, Tom Wilson scored 4:07 into overtime and the Washington Capitals rallied to beat the New York Rangers 3-2 on Wednesday night.
Ovechkin pulled nine goals from tying Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record, and Pierre-Luc Dubois also scored for Washington. Charlie Lindgren had 15 saves as the Capitals got their second straight win.
Artemi Panarin and Sam Carrick scored for the Rangers, and Igor Shesterkin had 23 saves. New York, which began the day in a playoff position for the first time since Dec. 11, lost for just the second time in six games.
In the extra period, Wilson deflected a pass from Dylan Strome on a 2-on-1 break after Strome got around a sliding defender.
Dubois got the Capitals on the scoreboard 1:04 into the game with his 16th goal of the season and third in four games. The Rangers, coming off back-to-back shutouts against Nashville and the New York Islanders, hadn’t given up a goal in 134:43.
Takeaways
Capitals: Washington was coming off a shootout win against Ottawa on Monday that ended a season-high three-game losing streak, and had to go past regulation again to get another win.
Rangers: New York fell short of getting its first three-game win streak since Nov. 14-19 and got swept in the season series against the Capitals.
Key moment
Mika Zibanejad sent a pass across the front intended for J.T. Miller, but Miller was being pushed out of position by Washington’s John Carlson. Wilson got the loose puck and started the winning 2-on-1 rush the other way in overtime.
Key stat
Washington was called for its league-high 11th too many men penalty early in the second period.
Up next
Capitals host Detroit on Friday to open a two-game homestand, and Rangers visit Ottawa on Saturday.
