NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Tom Wilson’s second goal of the game came 4 minutes into overtime to give the Washington Capitals a 6-5 win over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.
Alex Ovechkin scored his first goal of the season for Washington on a deflection and is now 41 goals shy of Wayne Gretzky for the all-time lead (895). Ovechkin has 15 career goals at the Prudential Center, tying the league mark for a visiting player at the venue.
Andrew Mangiapane, Connor McMichael and Dylan Strome also scored for the Capitals.
Nico Hischier scored twice and added an assist for New Jersey.
Logan Thompson stopped 26 shots for the Capitals. Jacob Markstrom had 31 saves for the Devils.
Takeaways
New Jersey found themselves in an early 3-1 hole, but managed to claw back and tie it at 5-5 late in the third period with aggressive play in the offensive zone.
The Capitals second line of Wilson, Pierre-Luc Dubois and McMichael were difference makers. The trio accumulated five points.
Key moment
Devils captain Hischier scored two goals in the span of 10 seconds early in the second period that tied the score at 3-3. It's the fastest two goals by the same player in team history and the fastest two goals to start a period (44 seconds) in Devils history.
Key stat
Known more for his toughness than being a point producer, Wilson matched a franchise record for opening the season with a goal in each of the Capitals first four games. It was Wilson's 758 game for Washington, tying him with Mike Gartner for ninth on the team's all-time list.
Up Next
The Capitals are at the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. The Devils host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Everett Merrill, The Associated Press