Early predicaments made it look like the Washington Capitals were headed for another disappointing start. The Caps battled back from an early deficit, but the Ducks snapped back even harder.
A back-and-forth first period finally ended with the Ducks holding a 3-2 lead.
Ryan Getzlaf opened the scoring at 4:10 on the power play. Jason Blake got a shot off right in front of the crease which was stopped by Semyon Varlamov. Blake remained in the crease as the puck bounced around and out to Getzlaf, who fired a low backhand that snuck by Varlamov.
Alex Ovechkin would make sure that the Caps wouldn't fall too far behind just 6:33 later on what Caps fans would classify as a classic Ovi goal. Nicklas Backstrom fed the puck to Ovechkin at the blueline, who then sprinted up ice. He would beat the initial defender, blow past Luca Sbisa and flick a wrist shot past Curtis McElhinney on one knee for his 22nd goal of the season.
Brooks Laich made it 2-1 at 16:07 thanks to a turnover from Teemu Selanne. Selanne sent an errant pass that Laich intercepted in the slot, giving him a wide-open lane to the net. Laich deked McElhinney and wristed a top-shelf goal over his blocker.
Selanne would redeem himself less than two minutes later by redirecting Saku Koivu's wrist shot and Toni Lydman gave the Ducks the lead again at 19:29 from a shot from the point that caught a screened Varlamov off guard.