Game #17 Recap - Capitals 5 Devils 6 (OT-SO)

The Capitals had no business getting a point in this game but a last second goal by Alex Ovechkin sent the game to overtime. The two teams played a scoreless overtime and the Devils scored the only shootout goal and the Caps fell 6-5. The game was the Capitals 7th match up in 15 days and it showed. The defense looked and played tired. They were a step behind the entire game, could not clear the defensive zone and left Jose Theodore out to dry. Without some spectacular saves from the Caps goalie the score would have been a Devils blowout. The offense showed remarkable resilience in answering each time the Devils took the lead. Nicklas Backstrom lead the charge with a goal and four assists for his first career 5-point game. In the final minute of the game, with the Caps net minder pulled for an extra attacker, Backstrom pulled the puck from a goalmouth scramble and feed Ovechkin the puck at the far post. Ovechkin deposited the puck with 0.8 seconds left in the game to tie the game at 5-5 and force the overtime. In a game that had very few positives a point in the standings was quite an accomplishment.

Of Note:

• For his effort Nicklas Backstrom was named the 1st Star of the Night by the NHL. Backstrom currently has a five game points streak and 10 points (2 goals, 8 assists) in his last three.
• Alex Ovechkin had 2 goals and an assist in the game. It was Ovechkin's 4th consecutive multi-point game. In those four games he has 5 goals and 5 assists. In the game Ovechkin had a plus/minus rating of plus-3. For the season he is plus-17 which ties him with teammate Alexander Semin for the NHL lead.
  
• The Caps scored on 1 of 2 power play attempts and killed off 3 of 4 Devil attempts.
• Ovechkin had 12 of the Caps 30 shots on goal. The Devils registered 33 shots on the Caps net.
  
• In the shootout Viktor Kozlov, Ovechkin and Boyd Gordon all failed to solve the Devil's Scott Clemmensen.
• Viktor Kozlov picked up a goal and an assist in the game. Tomas Fleischmann had a goal for the second consecutive game. Tyler Sloan and Boyd Gordon also picked up assists.
• The Caps won the face-off battle 36-33. The Caps have won more than 50% of face-offs in 11 straight games and are 52.5% effective for the season.
• The Caps now head to the West Coast for 4-game road trip.

Official Recap
Game Summary
Event Summary
Shootout Summary