Capitals defeat Stars, end losing streak at three

DALLAS -- The Washington Capitals ended a three-game losing streak with a 4-1 win against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Saturday.

John Carlson and Tom Wilson each had a goal and an assist, and Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves for the Capitals (3-1-2) in his second NHL win.
"We're playing pretty good hockey," Wilson said. "I think we've had a good chance to win every night. We're putting ourselves in a position that we want to be in throughout the game. Trying to close it out a little bit better, and we did that tonight and battened down the hatches late in the third (period)."
WATCH: [All Capitals vs. Stars highlights]
Radek Faksa scored for the Stars (1-4-1), who have lost their first three home games.
The Stars were 13-0-4 in their previous 17 home games against the Capitals and had not lost to Washington at home in regulation since Oct. 17, 1995. It was the NHL's longest active home point streak against one team.
Wilson made it 1-0 with a power-play goal on a rebound at 3:17 of the first period after Joel Hanley was given a double-minor for high sticking. Stars coach Jim Montgomery challenged the goal for a hand pass, but the call on the ice was confirmed.
Carlson made it 2-0 at 7:13 of the second period on the power play after forcing a turnover in the Dallas zone.

Evgeny Kuznetsov scored a power-play goal with a backhand at 3:34 of the third period for a 3-0 lead.
Faksa scored on a wraparound at 7:00 to make it 3-1.
"I don't even realize that I scored [right now] and it doesn't make me happy when we're in the situation that we are in," Faksa said of his first goal of the season. "It's tough to focus on things like that."
Alex Ovechkin scored into an empty net with 57 seconds remaining for the 4-1 final. He has three goals in the past two games.
The Stars went 0-for-6 on the power play and are 1-for-20 this season (5.0 percent).
"It felt better, but I'd be kidding myself if I said it was good enough," Dallas center Joe Pavelski said. "We've got to stay with it. If we can stay on net, keep tipping pucks, we're going to get a few bounces and a few of those are going to start going in. But it's time for production. If we could've gotten one there a little bit earlier, it's a completely different night."

The Capitals are 18-for-21 on the penalty kill this season (85.7 percent).
"I think we did a decent job of disrupting," Washington coach Todd Reirden said. "When there were breakdowns, we seemed to do a really good job of collapsing around our net and paying the price when we had to block shots or have good stick on puck and at least deflect a few pucks out of play."

They said it

"He was great. Just a real stoic guy back there, good angles, and played great for us in both games. But certainly, tonight throughout the game he came up with some big stops when we needed them." -- Capitals defenseman John Carlson on goalie Ilya Samsonov
"No results at the end of the day. I think there were times where we did good things, and there were times where the puck wasn't moving quick enough. We flipped sides there at the end and had a couple of good looks. But if we get that many penalties, that has to change. The amount of power plays we usually get, you have to bury at least one a game. That's on us. We have to find a way to get something going." -- Stars center Tyler Seguin
"There's no question that there's concern, but we can't worry about what's happened. We have to worry about what's ahead and rally around each other. Everyone has to look in the mirror and be better. Everyone has to take ownership of the ice time they're getting, the lack of production that they're maybe giving, and the lack of energy and emotion that they're giving to the team." -- Stars coach Jim Montgomery on the four-game road trip that begins Monday

Need to know

Carlson has seven points (two goals, five assists) in the past three games and has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) this season, tied with Patrik Laine of the Winnipeg Jets for third in the NHL. … Faksa has had a point in each of the past two games after having none through the first four. … The Stars lost by more than one goal for the first time this season. … Dallas won 4-3 in overtime at Washington on Tuesday.

What's next

Capitals: Host the Colorado Avalanche on Monday (5 p.m. ET; ESPN+, NBCSWA, ALT, NHL.TV)
Stars: At the Buffalo Sabres on Monday (3 p.m. ET; MSG-B, FS-SW, NHL.TV)