Capitals Rally To Beat Lightning 4-3 (OT); Dmitry Orlov Scores Game Winner

Photo: Patrick Smith/NHL via Getty Images

The Washington Capitals rallied from down 3-1 to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in overtime Friday night at Capital One Arena. The win improves the Capitals’ record to 18-4-5 (41 points). The Capitals are back in action on Saturday when they visit the Red Wings in the Motor City. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM.

GAME SUMMARY
The Lightning would pot a power play tally late in the first frame for a 1-0 lead at the first intermission. The Lightning would grab a 2-0 lead early in the middle stanza, but Evgeny Kuznetsov would answer less than a minute later for a 2-1 score early in the second period. The Lightning would add a late goal for a 3-1 lead at the second intermission. Jakub Vrana would cut the Tampa Bay lead to one early in the final frame, and Alex Ovechkin would tie it with a power play goal in the middle of the third period, sending the game to overtime. Dmitry Orlov would win it in the extra frame.

GAME STATS

STARTERS
Braden Holtby (12-2-0-4, 2.86 GAA, .909 sv%) started between the pipes for the Capitals. Andrei Vasilevskiy (9-5-0-4, 3.45 GAA, .888 sv%) got the start in goal for the visiting Lightning. The Capitals starting lines and defensive pairs:

#Caps‘ lines vs. TB:
8-Ovechkin, 92-Kuznetsov, 43-Wilson
13-Vrana, 20-Eller, 77-Oshie
14-Panik, 18-Stephenson, 72-Boyd
28-Leipsic, 26-Dowd, 21-Hathaway

6-Kempny, 74-Carlson
9-Orlov, 3-Jensen
34-Siegenthaler, 33-Gudas

Holtby vs. Vasilevskiy. #CapsBolts

— Mike Vogel (@VogsCaps) November 29, 2019

Scratches: Nicklas Backstrom (upper body injury, day-to-day), Christian Djoos (Recalled by the Capitals last Friday) and Beck Malenstyn were the scratches.

FIRST PERIOD
The Lightning would strike first late in the opening frame with a power play goal from Brayden Point at 18:50 of the first stanza.

💯 career goals for Brayden Point. Love it.#TBLvsWSH | #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/7qa06iHbzD

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) November 29, 2019

That would be all of the scoring in the first stanza. The Capitals out-attempted the Lightning 28-12 for the opening period. The Capitals led in shots on goal 14-7 for the first 20 minutes. Tampa was 1 for 2 and the Capitals 0 for 0 on the power play.

SECOND PERIOD
The Lightning would stretch their lead to 2-0 with a goal from Mikhail Sergachev at 4:28 of the middle frame.

Always follow the puck, just to be sure! 👏#TBLvsWSH | #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/ubqjnBSDbe

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) November 29, 2019

But the Capitals would quickly reduce the lead to one with a power play goal from Evgeny Kuznetsov (11) at 5:17 of the middle period. TJ Oshie (6) and Jakub Vrana (10) had the helpers.

Kuzy goin’ hard in tha paint! pic.twitter.com/8taIJEWL32

— Washington 🦃 Capitals (@Capitals) November 29, 2019

But the lightning would get it back just before the end of the period. Alex Killorn would pot the Bolts third goal of the evening at 18:48 of the middle frame.

Pointer works, Killer finishes. 🤩#TBLvsWSH | #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/L7QFSLevsd

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) November 30, 2019

The second period would end with the Lightning leading 3-1. Shot attempts were tied 15-15 for the second period, with the Capitals leading 43-27 after two periods. The Lightning led in shots on goal 14-5 for the second period, and led 21-19 after two periods. The Lightning were 1 for 3 and the Capitals 1 for 1 on the power play after two periods.

THIRD PERIOD
The Capitals would cut the lead to one with a goal from Jakub Vrana (12) at 3:45 of the final frame, making it 3-2. TJ Oshie (7) had the helpers.

V!!! \_(ツ)_/¯ pic.twitter.com/XmPK9BY81O

— Washington 🦃 Capitals (@Capitals) November 30, 2019

The Capitals would tie the game with a power play goal from Alex Ovechkin at 11:36 of the final frame. Dmitry Orlov (8) and Travis Boyd (6) had the assists.

Ovi’s Office O’clock pic.twitter.com/hKddRfdYV0

— Washington 🦃 Capitals (@Capitals) November 30, 2019

Regulation would end with the game tied 3-3.

OVERTIME
The Capitals would win it with a goal from Dmitry Orlov at 3:03 in overtime.

Like it ORLOV it????????? pic.twitter.com/ZwJeYkiZmW

— Washington 🦃 Capitals (@Capitals) November 30, 2019

The win is the Capitals 18th win of the season, tying them with Boston for the League lead. It’s Orlov’s second goal of the season and his first career overtime goal.The Lightning led in shot attempts 19-17 for the final period.

SHAVINGS

Capitals led in shots on goal 35-30.
Capitals led in shot attempts 60-46 for the game.
Lightning won the faceoff battle 52-48%.
The Capitals led in hits 42-24.
The Capitals were 2 for 2 and the Lightning 1 for 4 on the power play.
The Capitals five multi-goal comeback wins are the most among all clubs in 2019-20.
Alex Ovechkin scores on the power play to tie the game. It’s Ovechkin’s 255th career PPG, tying Teemu Selanne for the third-most PPGs in NHL history. Ovechkin is also five power play points from passing Gary Suter (478) for the 31st-most power play points in NHL history.
With seven shots against Tampa Bay, Alex Ovechkin has passed Marcel Dionne (5,363) for third on the NHL’s all-time shots list. Ovechkin sits at 5,365 career shots, surpassing Dionne in 237 fewer games played.
Evgeny Kuznetsov scores his 11th goal of the season, which is tied with Jakub Vrana for the second most on the team. It’s his third power play goal, and he’s now on a 37-goal pace on an 82-game season. His career high is 27 goals (2017-18).
Jakub Vrana registered a career-high nine shots against the Lightning. Vrana ranks second on the Capitals this season with 80 shots, trailing only Alex Ovechkin (131).
The Capitals recorded 42 hits against Tampa Bay, their highest single-game total and tied for the 10th highest single-game total in the NHL this season. The Capitals’ 654 hits rank seventh in the NHL.