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National Hockey League
Washington 4, Los Angeles 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, District of Columbia
Referees: Gord Dwyer, Corey Syvret
Linesmen: Jonny Murray, Libor Suchanek
Attendance: 18573

Alex Ovechkin scored three consecutive third-period goals in less than five minutes as the Washington Capitals rallied for a 4-2 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.

The Kings held a 2-1 lead before Ovechkin pulled off his quick hat trick, with the last goal being a long empty-netter. Ovechkin now has 14 goals in his past seven games, 40 this season and 698 in his career.

The team captain bounced back after not scoring in Washington's 4-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.

Braden Holtby started in goal for the Capitals after sitting the past two games in favor of rookie Ilya Samsonov, who won 11 straight decisions before losing Sunday. But Samsonov was hurt in practice Tuesday morning when hit by a shot, so Washington called up Vitek Vanecek from Hershey of the AHL to back up Holtby.

The Capitals have the most points in the Eastern Conference (and the National Hockey League) while the Kings are last in the Western Conference.

Jeff Carter gave the Kings a 1-0 lead when he fired a quick wrist shot past Holtby with 4:57 left in the first period.

Los Angeles slowed the potent Washington offense, but the Capitals tied it 7:25 into the second period. That's when John Carlson (one goal, two assists) took a pass from Nicklas Backstrom and beat goalie Jonathan Quick from between the circles.

Carl Hagelin got the other Washington assist on the play and now has scored a point in seven consecutive games, a career high.

Carter snapped the 1-1 tie when he deflected a shot past Holtby with 8:27 left in the third period. But Ovechkin tied it with 6:10 remaining by finishing off a quick centering pass from T.J. Oshie.

Ovechkin then gave the Capitals the lead with five minutes left. He took a shot that Quick stopped but then fumbled, and Ovechkin knocked it in. The empty-net goal came with 1:46 to go.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Los Angeles   Washington
Jeff Carter 2 Points Alex Ovechkin 3
Jeff Carter 2 Goals Alex Ovechkin 3
Drew Doughty 1 Assists John Carlson 2
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Jonathan Quick .870 Save Percentage Braden Holtby .935
Jonathan Quick 20 Saves Braden Holtby 29
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Los Angeles 31 2 0-2 1-1 2 32
Washington 24 4 0-1 2-2 4 25
Upcoming Games
  • Washington will play their next game at home against Philadelphia. The Capitals have a W/L % of .639 after a win and .722 after a loss.
  • Los Angeles will play their next game on the road against NY Islanders. The Kings have a W/L % of .250 after a win and .412 after a loss.