WASHINGTON-- John Carlson scored his first goal in 15 games, and Evgeny Kuznetsov had three assists for the Washington Capitals in a 5-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche at Capital One Arena on Tuesday.
The Capitals (19-12-1) have won 12 of their past 14 home games. Jakub Vrana, Brett Connolly, Devante Smith-Pelly and Matt Niskanen scored for Washington. Braden Holtby made 22 saves after being pulled in the second period of a 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Monday. WATCH: [All Avalanche vs. Capitals highlights] Washington lost 6-2 at Colorado on Nov. 16. The Capitals are 9-3-0 since. "I guess we do better at this altitude than over there," Carlson said. "But that was a tough point of the season for us and it's been going pretty good since then. I don't think there was much, 'Oh, we've got to hand it to these guys after what they did.' But we lost our last game and wanted to put out a good effort and we're at home. We did that tonight." Carlson last scored Nov. 10 in a 4-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but he had nine assists since then and is tied for fifth in the NHL in points by a defenseman (23). Colin Wilson and Tyson Jost scored for the Avalanche (14-14-2), who had won two in a row and went 2-2-0 on their road trip. "I'd like to have another point or two out of it, but it's satisfactory, let's put it that way," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "We still have pretty high standards for our team and feel we can win every night. We did OK. It was a good road trip for us."
Carlson beat Semyon Varlamov to make it 2-1 at 17:42 of the second period. Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie tried to clear a loose puck in front of the Colorado net, but Carlson came off the bench seconds earlier and intercepted the pass at full speed as he entered the offensive zone. Alone in the high slot, he beat Varlamov glove side. Brett Connolly scored on a delayed penalty at 5:15 of the third period to make it 3-1. "I was calling for it a little bit over there and [Madison Bowey] made a great play," Connolly said. "Froze the goalie and I just had to get it in the upper half of the net and was fortunate enough to put it where I wanted. It was good to get that insurance because we needed it with them scoring late." Niskanen increased the lead to 4-1 at 16:19 of the third period. Kuznetsov had his third assist, taking advantage of an Avalanche turnover and passing to Niskanen for a one-timer at the right circle. Jost made it 4-2 at 18:57 before Smith-Pelly scored an empty-net goal at 19:15.
Vrana beat Varlamov with a short-side shot from the left wing at 5:25 of the first period for a 1-0 lead. Wilson's goal at 4:13 of the second period came five seconds after he got off the bench. He lifted a backhand over Holtby's left shoulder to tie it 1-1. Holtby stopped Wilson at 13:13 with the score tied. "Just a big save on the breakaway," Connolly said. "It seems like [Holtby is] always there to bail us out when we need him. That's why he's our best player. A great bounce back game for him too."
Goal of the game
Carlson's goal at 17:42 of the second period.
Save of the game
Holtby's save on Wilson at 13:13 of the second period.
Highlight of the game
Niskanen's goal at 16:19 of the third period.
They said it
"I'm going to choose to take the positives out of that game, and I liked what a couple of guys have done since we've gone to 11 forwards. I think it's been good for our top line, even though I didn't love them tonight." -- Avalanche coach Jared Bednar "Pretty deceptive guy and he's pretty creative. When he's wheeling and dealing and feeling like that, get to the scoring area and get ready." -- Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen on Evgeny Kuznetsov
Need to know
The Capitals penalty kill was 4-for-4 and is 18-for-18 in the past eight games. … Avalanche forwards Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog were a combined minus-6.
What's next
Avalanche: Host the Florida Panthers on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; ALT, FS-F, NHL.TV) Capitals: At the Boston Bruins on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN360, SNE, SNP, NESN, NBCSWA, NHL.TV)
