Alex Ovechkin scored with 48 seconds left and goalie Phillip Grubauer off for an extra attacker to cap a late three-goal rally and the Washington Capitals went on to beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 in a shootout Sunday.
Mike Green cut Washington’s deficit to 4-2 with 8:40 remaining, and Dmitry Orlov pulled the Capitals within one with 3:31 to go. The two defensemen scored on long slap shots.
Ovechkin then tied it with his NHL-leading 27th goal.
In the shootout, Eric Fehr and Nicklas Backstrom for Washington and Grubauer made two saves on three shots to give Washington an improbable victory in the first meeting of the teams since they brawled at the end of the Capitals’ 7-0 victory in Philadelphia on Nov. 1.
Marcus Johansson had a first-period goal for Washington.
Claude Giroux, Mark Streit, Sean Couturier and Jacob Voracek scored for Philadelphia, and Michael Raffl had three assists.
Washington’s Michael Latta and Philadelphia’s Zac Rinaldo traded punches and were sent off in the second period. Early in the third, the Capitals Steve Oleksy and the Flyers’ Wayne Simmonds received majors for fighting. The teams will meet again Tuesday night in Philadelphia.
The primary combatants from Nov. 1 in a rare fight between goalies — the Capitals’ Braden Holtby and the Flyers’ Ray Emery — were on the bench. Steve Mason had 29 saves for Philadelphia. and Grubauer stopped 24 shots for Washington.
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