POSTGAME NOTEBOOK: Caps 4, Coyotes 2

Right Side Of A Good Thing - Missing top six right wings T.J. Oshie and Tom Wilson at the same time for the first time this season and owning a two-game losing streak, the Caps went into Thursday's game against the Coyotes in Arizona looking to get right. They did so with a 4-2, come-from-behind win, their first regulation triumph here since Jan. 16, 2006.

Pheonix Copley made 27 saves to earn his sixth win of the season in the Capitals' nets. Five of those six victories have immediately followed a Washington loss, and this one stopped a two-game slide.
With Oshie and Wilson out because of upper body injuries, Andre Burakovsky moved up to Washington's top line, and Travis Boyd drew into the lineup on the right side of the fourth line after sitting out the previous three as a healthy scratch.
Making amends for an early turnover that led directly to Arizona's first goal, Burakovsky scored what proved to be the game-winner with 4:42 remaining. With the Caps trailing 2-1 late in the second period, Boyd set up the tying tally from Matt Niskanen.
"We moved it around a little bit more tonight," says Caps coach Todd Reirden, "in terms of just different combinations, and using Boyd a little bit - even though he was playing on the wing - to take some face-offs in our [defensive] zone both in the second and the third [periods]. [He had] fresh legs from a guy who hasn't been in the lineup the last couple of games.
"They get an opportunity, and they take advantage of it, and whether they take advantage of it is up to them. You have to put them in spots where they can do something to help their own cause, and prove that they deserve to be in the lineup, and certainly Travis did that tonight.
"I moved Burakovsky up and obviously he was able to convert, playing with [Nicklas] Backstrom and [Alex] Ovechkin. And you've got Copley, who goes in there and I thought was really, really strong again."
It all added up to a rare win in the desert for the Caps, and a split of the first two games of their three-game road trip.

Which One's The Birthday Boy? - Niskanen's tying goal came on a series of fortuitous bounces, eventually settling into the net after glancing off Coyotes defenseman Jeff Chychrun. The goal also came on the Washington defenseman's 32nd birthday, marking the first time he has scored on his birthday in his NHL career.
"That was a gift for sure," admits Niskanen. "Not much of a shot, I had a few of those go in against me the other way so I'll take that."
Prior to Niskanen's on Thursday night, the last Caps player with a birthday lamplighter was John Carlson, who tallied on Jan. 10, 2015, the day he turned 25.

Road Killer - Jakub Vrana notched his ninth goal of the season - and third in two games - on Thursday. The goal was also his seventh road goal of 2018-19, second most on the team. Only Alex Ovechkin (12) has scored more on the road than Vrana.
First Strike - Vrana's goal on Thursday was also Washington's first goal of the game, and it was the second straight game in which the speedy Czech winger supplied the Caps' first goal of the contest. Six times this season, Vrana has scored Washington's first goal of the game and he leads the team in that department. Vrana has also scored the game's first goal on three occasions this season, tops among the Caps and tied for 13th in the NHL.
Sawbuck Streak -Ovechkin's empty-net goal with 2.3 seconds remaining extended his scoring streak to 10 straight games, his longest run since Jan. 27-Feb. 15, 2009. He has nine goals and five assists for 14 points over the life of his 10-game streak.
Baker's Dozen - When Evgeny Kuznetsov's centering feed clicked off Brett Connolly's stick and rolled to Vrana in the slot early in the second period, Vrana tucked it into the top corner for Washington's first goal of the game and perhaps the least arduous primary assist of Connolly's career.
The helper was the 13th of the season for Connolly in 28 games, one more than he had in 70 contests with the Capitals last season. He is now three assists shy of matching his career high of 16, attained in 71 games with Boston in 2015-16.

Making His Point -Copley not only earned his sixth victory of the season and of his NHL career, he picked up his first point in the NHL as well, supplying the secondary helper on Niskanen's tying tally.
"I didn't even realize until later, but yeah, it was cool," says Copley of the first assist.
Double Shot - Arizona's Richard Panik failed to convert on a penalty shot early in the second period and Vrana wasn't able to do so early in the third. Thursday's game marked the 10th time in NHL history that both sides failed to convert on a penalty shot in the same game.
Saturday was the 3,454th regular season game in Washington's franchise history, and it was the first time the Caps have ever been involved in a game in which both sides had a penalty shot in the same game.
By The Numbers -Carlson led the Caps with 24:27 in ice time, seven shots on net, and nine shot attempts … Niskanen and Dmitry Orlov led Washington with four hits each … Christian Djoos led the Caps with five blocked shots … Washington won only 20 of the game's 51 face-offs (39 percent) … Boyd won three of four draws (75 percent).