The Washington Capitals staged a dazzling comeback in the final five minutes against the New York Islanders and it was Alex Ovechkin who finished it off with an overtime goal and the 3-2 win. The three unanswered goals came in a little over five minutes of play, as Ovechkin ripped a low rocket through the five-hole of Evgeni Nabokov to win it just a minute and half into the extra session.
The Islanders took a two-goal lead just over two minutes into the third period as Matt Moulson scored his 27th goal of the season, beating Michal Neuvirth to give the Isles a multi-goal lead. The Caps stepped up the pressure but were unable to break through until Troy Brouwer finally ended the shutout with three and a half minutes remaining. Jason Chimera set up the play, hustling to play a puck in the corner and feeding it back to Matthieu Perreault on the boards. Perreault sent a perfect cross to Brouwer who was set up wide open on the far post and easily poked it in to cut the lead in half.
The Caps would tie it up in dramatic fashion, scoring with Neuvirth pulled and just 25 seconds remaining on the clock. It was Brouwer again, as he was credited with a deflection on a Brooks Laich shot from the point. With just thirty seconds remaining, the Isles dumped the puck into their own bench and failed to put it on the glass and clear it. A successful clear likely would have ended the game but instead the puck came back into the zone. The Caps and Jeff Halpern controlled the face-off and quickly got it back to the point where Laich fired into traffic.
Ovi would finish it off with the Caps' third unanswered goal and the thrilling overtime win. It was a crucial two points and Washington will look to build on the momentum on Friday night when the Devils visit Verizon Center.
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