Defenseman Josh Morrissey capped a two-goal performance by scoring 1:57 into overtime, lifting the Winnipeg Jets to a 5-4 victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday in a battle of the NHL’s two top teams.
Morrissey and Mark Scheifele exchanged passes before the former tucked the puck past Logan Thompson to end the game.
Winnipeg’s Cole Perfetti and defenseman Dylan Samberg each collected a goal and an assist and Alex Iaffalo also scored.
Vladislav Namestnikov and defenseman Neal Pionk each notched two assists and Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves for the Western Conference-leading Jets, who have won six in a row and nine of their last 11 games. Winnipeg also snapped an 11-game road losing skid in Washington that dated back to April 23, 2013.
Superstar Washington captain Alex Ovechkin scored with a blast from the point to forge a 4-4 tie with 7:39 remaining in the third period. It was his team-leading 24th goal of the season and 877th career, moving him 18 goals shy of breaking Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record.
Former Jet Pierre-Luc Dubois, Tom Wilson and Taylor Raddysh also scored goals for Washington.
Defenseman Matt Roy notched three assists and Thompson turned aside 25 shots for the Eastern Conference-leading Capitals, who also dropped a 5-4 overtime decision in Ottawa on Thursday.
Perfetti cleaned up a rebound to open the scoring at 9:13 of the first period before Samberg’s shot caromed off Dubois and past Thompson to double the Jets’ advantage just under 3 1/2 minutes later.
Dubois put the Capitals on the scoreboard at 1:12 of the second before Winnipeg answered at 4:03 of the period. Pionk’s shot was deflected home by Iaffalo to give the Jets a 3-1 lead, but Raddysh halved the deficit 51 seconds later with a shot under the crossbar.
Morrissey wired a shot from the slot past Thompson to regain the two-goal edge at 1:10 of the third period before Wilson tapped home a loose puck to trim Winnipeg’s lead to 4-3.
–Field Level Media
