Dowd’s two-goal night powers Caps to OT win over Red Wings originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
WASHINGTON — Trailing 2-0 to the Detroit Red Wings late in the second period, the Capitals were searching for life. They were creating chances but no one, not even Alex Ovechkin on the cusp of history, was landing their shots. Enter: Nic Dowd.
The Capitals’ fourth-line center returned from a one-game injury absence and scored a pair of goals 11 seconds apart during the 15th minute of the period to erase the two-goal margin and spark an eventual 4-3 overtime victory with Dmitry Orlov netting the game-winner. The win propelled the Capitals into playoff position for the first time since the opening month of the season.
Charlie Lindgren got the start for the Capitals between the pipes, his eighth in a row since Darcy Kuemper suffered an upper-body injury Dec. 3. Washington activated Kuemper off Injured Reserve on Monday but tapped Lindgren again with Kuemper easing his way back in.
Missing winger T.J. Oshie (upper body, day to day), Washington outshot the Red Wings 42-19 on the night but struggled to solve Detroit netminder Ville Husso for the first 35 minutes. A turnover in the defensive zone and a hooking penalty allowed the Red Wings to jump out to 2-0 lead in the first, forcing the Capitals into their first multi-goal deficit in 16 days.
Both early goals scored on Lindgren were shot just a few feet out from the crease. David Perron gathered up a loose puck on a turnover by Nick Jensen and roofed the puck over Lindgren’s glove-side shoulder. Oskar Sundqvist then later scored a power-play goal, receiving a puck with nobody but Lindgren in front of him and taking advantage.
Heading into the game, the spotlight was once again on Ovechkin as he chased goal No. 801 to tie Red Wings legend Gordie Howe for the second-most goals in NHL history. The sons of the late Hall of Famer Mark and Marty were at the arena to watch Ovechkin pursue their father’s mark.
Yet for the third straight game, Ovechkin was held scoreless — just the fourth time this season that he has gone that many games without a goal. Instead, it was Dowd and Erik Gustafsson providing the offense just two days after the defenseman netted a hat trick in Washington’s 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Dowd scored his first goal carrying the puck through the slot himself, evading pressure to get enough on the shot to beat Husso.
On the ensuing possession, he found himself in just the right spot to tap in a shot by Jensen.
The Red Wings took the lead back in the third period on a shot by winger Lucas Raymond off a 2-on-1 breakaway. Washington quickly regrouped, however, and scored just 70 seconds later on Gustafsson’s fourth goal in two games.
After both teams battled for puck possession for much of overtime, Orlov got a clean look near the point and fired it past Husso for the game-winner.
With the win, the Capitals moved to 17-13-4 with 38 points on the season. That total was good enough to push Washington past the idle New York Islanders (18-13-1) for the second Wild Card spot in the conference and fifth place in the Metropolitan Division. The Capitals will look to continue improving on that total when they travel to face the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.
