Caps come out hot but lose lead late in OT loss to Columbus originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
WASHINGTON — The Capitals got the fast start they’ve been looking for in recent weeks, jumping out to a 3-0 lead against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. They couldn’t hold on from there, however, falling 7-6 in an overtime loss on their home ice.
Their evening began with a pregame ceremony to honor Alex Ovechkin for moving into second place on the all-time goals list. Ovechkin overtook the late Hall of Famer Gordie Howe for sole possession of the second-most goals in NHL history Dec. 23, setting the stage for Tuesday’s series of gifts, tributes and congratulations from his teammates, Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and Howe’s son Mark, among others.
He responded in true Ovechkin fashion by scoring the game-opening goal five minutes into the first period.
The tally, which was originally given to Dylan Strome before a scoring change assessed it Ovechkin, marked the 40th of the season for the Capitals left wing. It marked the 13th time in his career he’s scored 40 goals, passing Wayne Gretzky for the most such seasons in league history.
Ovechkin’s teammates rallied around their captain early. TJ Oshie and Conor Sheary joined Ovechkin in putting a crooked number up on the scoreboard in the first. The Blue Jackets pulled it together from there, pulling even at five goals apiece midway through the third period and tying the game up again in the final minute of regulation even after Nick Jensen appeared to score the go-ahead goal.
Blue Jackets center Jack Roslovic then scored the game-winner in overtime. Charlie Lindgren made his third straight start between the pipes and second straight in place of the injured Darcy Kuemper (upper-body injury, day-to-day), who took reps in goal at morning skate Tuesday but wasn’t ready to return. to the lineup. Lindgren allowed seven goals on 39 shots with AHL call-up Zach Fucale on the bench.
With the loss, the Capitals dropped to 33-31-8 but raised their point total to 74 with 10 games remaining on their regular-season schedule. Washington will look to get back in the win column when they host the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night.