WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Ryan Nugent-Hopkins broke a tie with a short-handed goal with 4:03 remaining in the Edmonton Oilers鈥� 5-3 victory over the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night in the final game for both teams before the All-Star break.
Nugent-Hopkins added an empty-net goal with 1:05 remaining to wrap up the Oilers鈥� fifth victory in six games.
鈥淲e put ourselves, obviously, in a good position early in the game and it鈥檚 not like we stopped playing,鈥� Nugent-Hopkins said. 鈥淭hey just had a push, and they fought their way back in the game. But we stuck with it as much as we could and found a way to get it done.鈥�
Washington played without Alex Ovechkin after he entered the NHL鈥檚 COVID-19 protocols Wednesday. The Russian star also will miss the All-Star Game.
Leon Draisaitl, Evander Kane and Connor McDavid scored goals in the first 5:07 to give the Oilers a 3-0 lead. Mikko Koskinen stopped 24 shots.
Lars Eller, Conor Sheary and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored for Washington.
After allowing three goals and stopping just one shot, Ilya Samsonov was replaced by Pheonix Copley, who stopped 21 shots.
鈥淚t was tough, certainly not the way you want to start the game,鈥� Washington coach Peter Laviolette said. 鈥淵ou look up, and quickly in a game you鈥檙e down three. It鈥檚 a real high mountain to get back. I think it just lets the air out too on the bench and in the building. It makes it a little bit difficult.鈥�
Copley was substituting for Vitek Vanecek, who suffered an upper-body injury in Tuesday鈥檚 overtime win at Pittsburgh.
鈥淚 train always to be prepared even when I鈥檓 backing up just in case something happens and I have to go in,鈥� Copley said. 鈥淭his time it was almost a full game. It was nice to get back on the ice. Obviously it鈥檚 a tough loss for us.鈥�
Draisaitl, heading to his third All-Star Game, scored 1:30 into the game. It was his 32nd goal, and the sixth in his last six games.
In his third game since signing with the Oilers on Jan. 27, Kane scored his second goal at 3:01 of the first, his 21st in 35 career games against the Capitals, by far his most against any opponent.
McDavid鈥檚 23rd goal, and the fourth in his last six games, gave Edmonton a 3-0 lead. He鈥檒l play in his fifth All-Star Game.
Eller scored for Washington at 7:36 of the first, and Sheary at 9:16 of the second. Kuznetsov, who鈥檒l be playing in his second All-Star Game, tied it at 3 at 2:48 of the third.
SECOND HALF
Edmonton coach Dave Tippett knows the season鈥檚 second half will be challenging.
鈥淲e struggled for a while, and now we feel we鈥檝e got all our players back,鈥� Tippett said. 鈥淲e feel like we鈥檙e back going in the right direction. We鈥檒l take a little rest here. Our schedule gets real hectic in February. We鈥檒l need everybody to make sure we鈥檙e ready. It鈥檚 only half the season, but it feels like the stretch run already. That鈥檚 what we鈥檙e going to gear up for.鈥�
NOTES: Washington F Tom Wilson was named to replace Ovechkin in the All-Star Game. 鈥opley appeared in his first NHL game since April 6, 2019.. 鈥� Capitals D Justin Schultz, who assisted on Eller鈥檚 goal, has assists in three straight games. 鈥� Oilers F Cody Ceci assisted on the first two goals, his first game with multiple points since Nov. 11. 鈥� Edmonton D Tyson Barrie was activated from long-term injured reserve, and Slater Koekkoek was waived and assigned to Bakersfield of the AHL.
UP NEXT
Oilers: Host Vegas on Tuesday night.
Capitals: Host Columbus on Tuesday night.
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Rich Dubroff, The Associated Press
