Rapid Recap: Capitals 3, Avalanche 2

T.J. Oshie scored the go-ahead goal with nearly two minutes remaining and the Washington Capitals rallied to defeat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 on Thursday night at Pepsi Center.
Andre Burakovsky and Mikko Rantanen scored in the first period to give Colorado a 2-0 lead. Burakovsky assisted on Rantanen's marker as well, and Nathan MacKinnon had a multi-point performance with two helpers in the contest to bring his season point total to 80.
Vladislav Kamenev also had an assist, and Avs goaltender Philipp Grubauer finished by making 35-of-38 saves.

All of the Capitals' tallies came on redirections, beginning with Nicklas Backstrom's marker midway through the second period. Tom Wilson tied the game at 12:48 of the third period, and Oshie gave Washington its first lead of the night with 124 seconds left in regulation.
The Caps' Alex Ovechkin had no points in the contest and remains two goals shy of 700 in his NHL career.
The loss for the Avalanche ends its five-game winning streak and its four-game home winning streak.
Colorado continues its homestand on Saturday versus the Los Angeles Kings, but the contest will be played will be at the United States Air Force Academy for the 2020 NHL Stadium Series outdoor game.
Statistics
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Photo Gallery

THE GOALS

1st Period
2:54 COL (1-0) - During a delayed Washington penalty, Nathan MacKinnon fed the puck on a 2-on-1 to Andre Burakovsky, who then pounded a shot that went off the goalie's glove and in.
16:05 COL (2-0) - PPG, Coming from the right wall, Rantanen skated to the slot and unleashed a wrist shot that found twine.
2nd Period
11:37 WSH (2-1) - PPG, Nicklas Backstrom knocked in Jakub Vrana pass's in front to cut Colorado's deficit in half.
3rd Period
12:48 WSH (2-2) - PPG, Tom Wilson tallied on a redirection of John Carlson's shot from the point to tie the game.
17:56 WSH (2-3) - T.J. Oshie scored on a deflection from a point shot by Nick Jensen.
Final: Washington - 3 | Avalanche - 2

3 STARS

Selected by Colorado Hockey Coach of the Game: Maddy Jerolemen (Colorado Rampage)

POWER PLAYS

Colorado: 1 for 4
Washington: 2 for 5

GOALTENDING BATTLE

Colorado: Philipp Grubauer made 35 saves on 38 shots while seeing 19 pucks in the third period.
Washington: Braden Holtby finished by making 32 saves, including all 23 in the final two periods.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

Nathan MacKinnon recorded two assists and now has 80 points this season. He reached the 80-point threshold in 56 games to become the quickest Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques player to do so since Joe Sakic recorded 81 points (37 goals, 44 assists) in 55 games during the 1995-96 campaign.

NOTEBOOK

Andre Burakovsky scored for the 18th time this season, setting a new career high for goals in a campaign… Nathan MacKinnon extended his point streak to six games (two goals, five assists)… Colorado is now 16-6-3 against Eastern Conference opponents... The Avs are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games and have collected points in 10 of their last 12 contests (8-2-2). Colorado drops to 5-1-2 in its last eight home games, suffering its first regulation loss at home since Dec. 31, 2019 versus Winnipeg… Against the Capitals in their careers, Nathan MacKinnon has now registered 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in 13 contests while Mikko Rantanen has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in seven games… The Avalanche finished its two-game season series against the Capitals with a 1-1-0 record.

QUOTABLE

Andre Burakovsky on the game: "There was a lot of penalties and the rhythm goes away a little bit. I mean, they could turn it around and we were expecting a hard push from them and I think we just have to stick with it."

BIG HIGHLIGHT

IMAGE OF THE GAME

Ready for the final 20.

ROSTER REPORT

Mark Barberio returned to the Avalanche on Thursday following his four-game conditioning assignment with the American Hockey League's Colorado Eagles. Barberio was the lone healthy scratch for the Avs, who didn't make any changes to their lineup… Goaltender Philipp Grubauer made his second consecutive start and his sixth in the last seven games

INJURY UPDATE

Nazem Kadri missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury. He is out indefinitely and is expected to miss several weeks after getting hurt on Sunday at the Minnesota Wild… Colin Wilson (lower body) continues to rehab after having two surgeries earlier this season.

UP NEXT

The Avalanche heads outdoors for the 2020 NHL Stadium Series in Colorado Springs. The Avs will practice at the U.S. Air Force Academy's Falcon Stadium on Friday afternoon before taking on the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday at 6 p.m. MT. Colorado returns to Pepsi Center to close out the homestand on Tuesday and Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders, respectively.

LINE COMBINATIONS

Based on the start of the game
Forwards
95 Andre Burakovsky - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 96 Mikko Rantanen
92 Gabriel Landeskog - 37 J.T. Compher - 72 Joonas Donskoi
13 Valeri Nichushkin - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 11 Matt Calvert
81 Vladislav Kamenev - 17 Tyson Jost - 83 Matt Nieto
Defensemen
27 Ryan Graves - 8 Cale Makar
49 Samuel Girard - 6 Erik Johnson
16 Nikita Zadorov - 28 Ian Cole
Goaltenders
31 Philipp Grubauer
39 Pavel Francouz