Capitals 6, Red Wings 5 (OT): Captain Alex Ovechkin scored a power-play goal at 2:37 of overtime as Washington overcame Gustav Nyquist's first career hat trick to salvage the finale of its home-and-home series with visiting Detroit.

With the Capitals competing in their league-high 21st overtime contest, Ovechkin unleashed a one-timer from the left circle that beat Jimmy Howard (22 saves) for his NHL-best 39th goal.

Joel Ward collected two goals and an assist and Jason Chimera also recorded a three-point performance (one goal, two assists) for Washington, which posted just its third win in 12 games (3-6-3). Defenseman John Carlson netted a power-play goal and Troy Brouwer also tallied as the Capitals went 3-for-6 with the man advantage.

Nyquist capped his four-point performance with an assist and increased his goal total to eight in seven games. Tomas Tatar and Justin Abdelkader also tallied and captain Henrik Zetterberg notched three assists for the Red Wings, who have dropped four in a row on the road.

After Ward scored 19 seconds after Tatar's goal to give Washington a 4-2 lead at 13:49 of the second period, Nyquist beat Michal Neuvirth (25 saves) from in close exactly five minutes later. Nyquist, who also scored midway through the first period, capped his hat trick and tied the contest at 4-4 just 42 seconds into the third after depositing Zetterberg's centering feed past Neuvirth.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Washington increased its goal total on the power play to 47, moving past idle St. Louis (45) for top honors in the NHL. ... The Capitals scored two power-play goals in the first period for the second time this season. They also accomplished the feat against Tampa Bay on Jan. 9. ... The Capitals played without D Mike Green (concussion-like symptoms) and C Brooks Laich (groin). ... All three meetings between the clubs spanned past regulation. Washington posted a 4-3 shootout win on Nov. 15 before Detroit returned the favor by the same score on Friday.