Ovechkin scores again in Capitals loss to Stars

WASHINGTON -- Alex Ovechkin scored his 40th goal of the season, but the Washington Capitals lost 3-2 to the Dallas Stars at Capital One Arena on Sunday.

Ovechkin's 40-goal season is his 12th in the NHL, tying Wayne Gretzky for the most in history.
"He's been consistent from start to finish with his game. Pretty incredible accomplishment," Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. "But for me, it's been a consistent thing we've seen from training camp right from the start of the season right through now."
Roope Hintz scored two power-play goals for the Stars (34-24-3), who had lost four of their past five games, including 4-2 to the New York Islanders on Saturday. Jake Oettinger made 36 saves after he made 21 in the loss to the Islanders.

"We all knew how important this game was for us," Oettinger said. "We've got to keep plugging away. … To come into this building, obviously, they've been playing really well, so to get a win is huge."
Ovechkin has scored in four straight games for the Capitals (35-19-10), who had won four straight and had their seven-game point streak end. Vitek Vanecek made 20 saves for his first loss in seven starts.
Dmitry Orlov cut it to 3-2 at 8:56 of the third period when he scored on a wrist shot from the high slot.
Oettinger made a sliding save on John Carlson to preserve the lead at 13:20.
"I kind of got tied up, so I just tried to get everything I could over there and thankfully it hit me," Oettinger said.
Alexander Radulov gave Dallas a 1-0 lead at 2:17 of the first period when he deflected Esa Lindell's shot from the point.
Hintz made it 2-0 at 17:55, taking a pass from Jason Robertson behind the defense and scoring with a backhand.
"I think we should not play like that because they come from back-to-back [games]," Orlov said of Washington's first period. "I think we [were the] fresher team and we should put more pressure on them and play more in offensive zone."

Ovechkin pulled the Capitals to within 2-1 at 4:53 of the second period with a one-timer from the top of the left circle on the power play.
"The second period, I thought we started to come a little bit. We're playing a desperate team," Laviolette said. "The third period I thought we pushed, but you can't give up two-goal leads and expect to come back and win every game once you do that."
Hintz extended the lead to 3-1 at 10:38 of the second. After passing the puck to Tyler Seguin, Hintz skated down the slot and tapped in a pass from Joe Pavelski at the bottom of the left circle.
"At first I was thinking tip it on the side there," Pavelski said. "Then 'Segs' makes a little sauce play and their guy's pressuring me. I see Roope coming down and tried to get it to an area for him."
NOTES: Carlson left the game late in the third period after hitting the boards following contact with Stars forward Jamie Benn. Laviolette did not have an update on his status after the game. … Capitals forward Brett Leason had one hit in 6:24 of ice time after being recalled from Hershey of the American Hockey League on Sunday. … Washington forward Lars Eller had two hits and one blocked shot in 12:25 of ice time after missing three games while in NHL COVID-19 protocol. … Capitals defenseman Michal Kempny had two hits and one blocked shot in 11:15 of ice time in his first game since Feb. 28 (healthy scratch). … Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov had an assist to extend his point streak to nine games (six goals, six assists). … Hintz's multigoal game was his first since he had a hat trick against the Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 30. … Stars goalie Braden Holtby, who did not play due to a lower-body injury, was honored with a video tribute and standing ovation during the first period. He was making his return to Washington after signing with the Vancouver Canucks as a free agent on Oct. 9, 2020. Holtby spent 10 seasons with the Capitals, including winning the Stanley Cup in 2018, and ranks second in their history in wins (282) and is tied with Olie Kolzig for first in shutouts (35).