On a night he was honored for passing one NHL legend, Washington’s Alex Ovechkin made history by eclipsing another. However, the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets stole the show with a stunning 7-6 overtime win over the Capitals on Tuesday night.
Jack Roslovic took advantage of a T.J. Oshie turnover and scored his second goal of the night 2:43 into overtime, giving the Blue Jackets the win on a night when they trailed 3-0 and 5-3.
Nick Jensen’s second goal of the game, with 4:36 remaining in regulation, gave Washington a 6-5 lead. However, Boone Jenner, with an extra Columbus attacker on the ice, tied the game 6-6 with 46.9 seconds left in regulation, forcing overtime.
Before the game, Ovechkin was honored in a 20-minute on-ice ceremony by Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and several other dignitaries. Ovechkin passed Gordie Howe for second place on the all-time NHL goals list with two against Winnipeg on Dec. 23. Howe’s son Mark was part of the ceremony.
Since then, the Capitals captain has scored 18 more goals, including one Tuesday night that gave him 40 goals on the season. It is his 13th season of at least 40 goals, passing Wayne Gretzky for most in NHL history. With 820 career goals, Ovechkin stands 74 goals shy of Gretzky’s all-time mark.
Though they earned a point, the loss was a painful one for the Capitals (33-31-8, 74 points), who are trying to catch the Florida Panthers for the second and final Eastern Conference wild card.
The Blue Jackets (22-41-7, 51 points) finished their five-game road swing with a win that snapped a three-game skid, giving them two victories on the trip.
The Capitals had given up the first goal in five straight games before scoring the first three goals in the opening 16 minutes on Tuesday.
Ovechkin made history just over five minutes into the first period when he flipped the puck toward the left post for Strome. The puck never reached Strome and instead went off the stick of Columbus defenseman Nick Blankenburg for his 40th goal of the season.
Strome was initially awarded with the goal, but replays showed the puck never reached the Washington forward and instead deflected off Blankenburg’s stick and in.
Adam Boquist tallied twice for Columbus, and Emil Bemstrom and Eric Robinson had a goal and an assist apiece. Johnny Gaudreau, Kent Johnson and Patrik Laine each logged two assists, and Daniil Tarasov made 31 saves for the win.
Nick Jensen scored twice, Oshie and Sonny Milano each had a goal and an assist and Conor Sheary also scored for the Capitals. Tom Wilson was credited with two assists, and Charlie Lindgren stopped 32 shots.
–Field Level Media