Capitals 5 - 4 Jets
Final - 2OT
  for this game

Holtby has 43 saves, Caps beat Jets in SO

Oct 23, 2013 - 4:31 AM Winnipeg, MB (SportsNetwork.com) - Braden Holtby had 43 saves in regulation and overtime, then a couple more in a shootout Tuesday, leading the Washington Capitals to a 5-4 win over the Winnipeg Jets.

Alex Ovechkin scored two goals in regulation, giving him an NHL-leading nine for the season, and Martin Erat won the game for Washington in the sixth round of the shootout with a snap shot through Ondrej Pavelec's legs.

Mikhail Grabovski and Troy Brouwer also scored for the Capitals, who started a five-game road trip. Brouwer's goal gave Washington a 4-3 lead early in the third period.

Holtby stopped 11 shots in the first period, 16 in a thrill-a-minute second -- both teams scored three goals in the period -- 13 in the third and three in overtime. He made two in overtime and another shot went wide.

Bryan Little scored two goals for Winnipeg -- one shorthanded and the other to tie the game in the third period. Grant Clitsome and Blake Wheeler also scored for the Jets, who ended 2-3-1 on a six-game homestand.

"I thought the line combos were good. We got some good offense from people that were frustrated in the past," Jets head coach Claude Noel said.

Pavelec had 28 saves but was beaten by Nicklas Backstrom, Brooks Laich, Brouwer and Erat in the shootout.

Six combined goals in the second period, including back-to-back tallies from Ovechkin, left the game tied 3-3.

On a power play, Backstrom put a move on Tobias Enstrom in the slot that sent the Jets defenseman to the ice. Backstrom found Brouwer, who scored from the left side to give the Capitals a 4-3 lead 4:56 into the third period.

It lasted all of 2 minutes and 8 seconds. The Jets were applying pressure on Holtby when Little netted his second of the game on a knuckler from the slot that beat the goaltender high on the glove side, tying the game again.

Winnipeg kept the pressure on in overtime, but Holtby made three saves to keep it tied. Evander Kane rifled a shot wide of Holtby in the final seconds.

"It was not our game at all," said Ovechkin. "I think we made too many mistakes. But we got lucky in the shootout. ... We didn't play how we have to play at all."

After Grabovski made it 1-0 on a rebound 3:11 into the second period, Little scored on a shorthanded 2-on-1 rush with Andrew Ladd.

Clitsome ripped a long slap shot from the right side past Holtby but Ovechkin scored consecutive goals for a 3-2 Washington lead -- the first a backhand on a breakaway, the second after a draw in the left circle.

Wheeler's goal on a deflection tied the game again for Winnipeg in the final minute of the second.

Game Notes

The Jets played their NHL-high eighth home game. They start a four-game road trip Thursday at Nashville ... The Capitals are at Edmonton on Thursday ... The Capitals were 4-1 against the Jets last season ... Ovechkin entered the game tied for the NHL lead in goals with Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, San Jose teammates Patrick Marleau and Tomas Hertl, and St. Louis' Alexander Steen.






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