Nicklas Backstrom and Richard Panik scored 1:02 apart late in the third period to give the Washington Capitals a 3-2 preseason win against the St. Louis Blues at Capital One Arena on Wednesday.
Backstrom scored with seven seconds left after Panik tied it 2-2 on the power play with 1:09 remaining. Zach Sanford scored a power-play goal 2:05 into the third to give the Blues a 2-1 lead, and Austin Poganski scored in the first period for St. Louis. Jordan Binnington made 22 saves playing the first two periods. Evan Fitzpatrick made eight saves in the third. Radko Gudas scored a second-period goal, and Alex Ovechkin had two assists for Washington. Vitek Vanecek made 13 saves playing the first half of the game; Ilya Samsonov made 11 finishing it. The teams, winners of the Stanley Cup the past two seasons, open the regular season against each other at St. Louis on Oct. 2.
