National Hockey League
Washington 6, Los Angeles 4
When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, February 11, 2019
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, District of Columbia
Referees: Brad Meier, Brad Watson
Linesmen: Pierre Racicot, Mark Shewchyk
Attendance: 18506

Evgeny Kuznetsov finished with two goals and two assists while linemate Alex Ovechkin added one goal and two assists as the Washington Capitals defeated the visiting Los Angeles Kings 6-4 Monday night.

Washington completed a 4-1-1 homestand while Los Angeles closed out a 3-2-1 road trip. The teams will meet again Feb. 18 in California.

Ovechkin and Los Angeles' Austin Wagner traded first-period goals before the Capitals' Brett Connolly and the Kings' Tyler Toffoli did the same later in the period, which ended in a 2-2 tie.

An Oscar Fantenberg goal 3:42 into the second period gave Los Angeles its first lead of the night at 3-2. But that's when the Capitals got going.

Kuznetsov, who has seven goals and eight assists in his past eight games, scored from in front on a rebound at the 6:39 mark and tied the game.

Washington then took the lead for good when defenseman Christian Djoos scored his first goal of the season on a clever play. The Kings could not clear the puck away from goalie Jonathan Quick, and it slid off to his left.

That's when Djoos reached out and poked it into the air past the goalie and everyone else into the net for a 4-3 Washington lead just past the midway point of the middle period.

Djoos had been out from mid-December until last weekend due to a thigh injury required surgery.

The Capitals stretched the lead to 5-3 when Jakub Vrana ripped a shot past Quick from the right circle at 13:09. Those three goals in a span of 6:30 turned a one-goal deficit into that two-goal lead.

Wagner beat goalie Pheonix Copley from in front for his second goal of the night and seventh of the season midway through the third period before Kuznetsov struck again. He took a quick pass from Ovechkin in front of the goal, waited a moment and then fired a shot past Quick to the far side for a 6-4 lead with 4:47 remaining.

Copley made 29 saves in the win. Quick stopped 25 shots.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Los Angeles   Washington
Austin Wagner 2 Points Evgeny Kuznetsov 4
Austin Wagner 2 Goals Evgeny Kuznetsov 2
Kyle Clifford 2 Assists Evgeny Kuznetsov 2
Tyler Toffoli 1 Power Play Goals Alex Ovechkin 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Jonathan Quick .806 Save Percentage Pheonix Copley .879
Jonathan Quick 25 Saves Pheonix Copley 29
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Los Angeles 33 4 1-3 3-4 8 25
Washington 31 6 1-4 2-3 6 34
Upcoming Games
  • Washington will play their next game on the road against Columbus. The Capitals have a W/L % of .581 after a win and .520 after a loss.
  • Los Angeles will play their next game at home against Vancouver. The Kings have a W/L % of .304 after a win and .485 after a loss.