National Hockey League
Washington 4, Arizona 2
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 6, 2018
Where: Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona
Referees: Kendrick Nicholson, Dan O'Rourke
Linesmen: Scott Driscoll, Bryan Pancich
Attendance: 11910

Andre Burakovsky scored the tiebreaking goal late in the third period, and Alex Ovechkin added an empty-netter in the final moments as the visiting Washington Capitals defeated the Arizona Coyotes 4-2 Thursday night in Glendale, Ariz.

Burakovsky took a pass from Matt Niskanen (one goal, one assist) and came up the left wing before firing a shot that beat goalie Adin Hill on the short side to snap a 2-2 tie with 4:42 left in the third period.

Ovechkin added his empty-net goal with 2.3 seconds remaining.

This victory ended a brief two-game Washington losing streak. The Coyotes had won four straight.

Capitals goalie Pheonix Copley made 27 saves. Hill, who entered the game with a 4-0-0 record and a 0.56 GAA, finished with 25 stops.

Washington was playing without two of its top right wingers -- Tom Wilson and T.J. Oshie, both out with what the club called upper-body injuries. The Washington Post reported Thursday that Wilson sustained a concussion due to a blindside hit Tuesday in the Capitals' 5-3 loss road loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Oshie also is believed to have sustained a head injury last month and has not played since then.

The Capitals moved up Burakovsky to the top line, but it was his mistake that led to Arizona's first goal. He turned the puck over in the Washington end, and Derek Stepan got it and made a quick pass to Christian Fischer, who scored on a one-timer 4:48 of the first period for a 1-0 lead.

Richard Panik missed on an early second-period penalty shot for the Coyotes, and Washington tied it on a Jakub Vrana goal at 5:27.

Lawson Crouse gave the Coyotes a 2-1 lead less than two minutes later when he scored after coming up with a long rebound.

Niskanen tied the game for the Capitals with four minutes left in the middle period. Travis Boyd got the primary assist, and Copley earned his first point this season with the second helper.

Vrana had a chance to give Washington the lead on the game's second penalty shot 16 seconds into the third period, but Hill stopped him.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Washington   Arizona
Matt Niskanen 2 Points Lawson Crouse 1
Matt Niskanen 1 Goals Lawson Crouse 1
Matt Niskanen 1 Assists Nick Cousins 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Pheonix Copley .931 Save Percentage Adin Hill .893
Pheonix Copley 27 Saves Adin Hill 25
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Washington 29 4 0-1 2-2 4 20
Arizona 29 2 0-2 1-1 2 31
Upcoming Games
  • Arizona will play their next game at home against San Jose. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .462 after a loss.
  • Washington will play their next game on the road against Columbus. The Capitals have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .667 after a loss.