Ducks fall short to Capitals in shootout

John Carlson tied the game late in the second period and then scored Washington’s third and final shootout goal to give the Capitals a 4-3 victory over the Ducks on Monday night.

Tom Wilson scored his 100th career goal and Carl Hagelin added his first of the season for Washington, which improved 2-0-1 during a four-game homestand.

“We haven’t made any excuses on why we can’t be successful,” Washington coach Peter Laviolette said. “And so that’s a credit to the players and the guys in the room. No matter who’s put on a jersey for any given game, they have responded, and they’ve played really hard and they’ve played really well.”

Alex Ovechkin added his 20th and 21st assists for the Capitals, then joined Daniel Sprong in scoring during the shootout. Ilya Samsonov made 31 saves, including the only one required by either goaltender in overtime.

“Teams don’t want to get beat,” Carlson said of the tight three-on-three session after an otherwise open game. “Which is, depending on how you look at it, a shame or a relief, I think.”

Sonny Milano had a goal and assist for Anaheim, which a day earlier saw all-time leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf go on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Fellow veteran forward Adam Henrique is day to day with a lower-body injury, the Ducks announced.

Vinni Lettieri and Joshn Manson also scored for the Ducks, and Trevor Zegras contributed his 14th and 15th assists for his third straight multi-point game; he is the youngest player in Ducks history to record multiple assists in three consecutive games.

Rickard Rakell and Troy Terry contributed shootout goals for the Ducks, and John Gibson stopped 26 shots.

“There were lots of plays being made, and at a high rate of speed,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. “A well-fought point. We would like both, though.”

The Ducks and Capitals combined for five second-period goals. Manson guided in the rebound of Milano’s shot off the post only nine seconds after the period-opening faceoff.

After Hagelin scored for Washington, Milano added his own rebound goal when he swatted a loose puck out of the air past Samsonov to tie it at 2-2 later in the period.

Lettieri’s one-time wrister off Cam Fowler’s feed easily beat Samsonov from close range. But Carlson put in his own rebound inside the final minute after Ovechkin’s steal and feed.

“Offensive game, a lot of chances both ways,” Zegras said. “I thought it was pretty fun.”

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