Alex Ovechkin scores 790th goal, Flyers lose 8th straight
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sonny Milano tied it with less than three minutes left in regulation, Alex Ovechkin scored the overtime winner for his 790th career goal, and the Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Wednesday night, snapping a four-game losing streak.
The Capitals were on track for a fifth consecutive loss before Milano beat Felix Sandstrom off the rush with 2:58 left in regulation. The play was close to being offside, but Philadelphia coach John Tortorella never challenged Washington's tying goal.
Ovechkin scored on a one-timer off a pass from Dylan Strome 1:04 into OT, lifting the Capitals to their first win this season in a game that went past regulation. He made Sandstrom the 164th different NHL goaltender he has scored on, tying Mark Messier for third most in that category, and moved 11 goals back of Gordie Howe for second on the career list.
The Flyers dropped their eighth straight game, wasting leads of 1-0 and 2-1 on soft goals by Morgan Frost and Patrick Brown that Washington's Darcy Kuemper should have stopped. Sandstrom was brilliant in making 29 saves, but his play was not enough to give Philadelphia its first win since Nov. 8.
Marcus Johansson scored a power-play goal for Washington not long after having one disallowed for kicking the puck into the net. Johansson's goal that counted was initially credited to Ovechkin before replays showed his Swedish teammate touching the puck just before it crossed the goal line.
Each team came into the game banged up from missing several players to injuries that have depleted depth and been one reason for so much losing of late.
The Flyers added forwards Travis Konecny and Scott Laughton to their list of absences that already included James van Riemsdyk, Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson. The Capitals were again missing Tom Wilson and Nicklas Backstrom, who are recovering from offseason surgeries, along with defenseman Dmitry Orlov, out for an eighth consecutive game.
Washington winger T.J. Oshie returned after missing the past 11 games with what the team called an upper-body injury and played with reckless abandon, throwing his body around early and often.
UP NEXT
Flyers: Host the cross-state rival Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday afternoon.
Capitals: Host the Calgary Flames on Friday afternoon.
