WASHINGTON -- The Chicago Blackhawks and Washington Capitals finished the second period tied at 2-2 on Thursday in the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Nationals Park.
Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad tied the game with a redirection goal 3:15 into the second period. It was Saad's ninth goal of the season. It came off of a Capitals giveaway that led to two bang-bang passes from Marian Hossa to Jonathan Toews and from Toews to Saad.
Capitals defenseman John Carlson tried to send the puck around the end boards to Brooks Orpik, but his soft backhanded pass off the end boards from the left circle never made it to Orpik on the other side.
The puck hit off the boards and caromed off the back of the goal, where it was intercepted by Hossa. He quickly found Toews in the right circle; Toews one-touched a pass to Saad, who was cutting through the left circle with his stick out for the redirection.
With the assist, Toews became the NHL's all-time leader in points in outdoor games with five on two goals and three assists in three games. He also played in the 2009 NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field and in the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series game at Soldier Field.
The Blackhawks couldn't cash in on a 5-on-3 power play for 91 seconds midway through the period. They didn't get a shot on goal during the power-play sequence which lasted 2:29. They had two shot attempts.
Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin was inches from scoring twice early in the second period. He had a shot go off the right post at 40 seconds and another off the crossbar at 1:23.
Washington entered the second period with a 2-1 lead on goals by Eric Fehr and Ovechkin in the first period. Patrick Sharp scored a power-play goal for the Blackhawks in the first.
Follow Dan Rosen on Twitter at: @drosennhl
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