In Chicago, the Blackhawks’ Caleb Jones hit for the game-winner with 81 seconds gone in overtime on Wednesday , for a 5-4 win over the Washington Capitals.
The Caps forced the extra session when Conor Sheary scored with three seconds left on the third period clock for a 4-4 tie.
“I kind of stopped and just saw [the puck] trickling. It was just sitting right there,” Jones said. “You kind of have this feeling, ‘You better not miss this.’ I just kind of took a whack at it and saw it go in.”
The Blackhawks unleashed a storm of offense in the middle frame.
Alex DeBrincat, Philipp Kurashev, and MacKenzie Entwistle struck for three goals in a 34-second outburst.
Chicago improved to 11-15-2.
“I didn’t think our start was terrible, but I didn’t think it was where it should’ve been and [Fleury] kept us alive,” Blackhawks head coach Derek King said. “Guys are believing in themselves, they believe, even if we get into overtime against a good hockey team we can win.”
Marc-Andre Fleury made 42 saves in the Hawks win.
Alex Ovechkin, Daniel Sprong, and Nicklas Backstrom also scored for the Caps.
“Maybe 50 minutes of our game tonight was pretty solid,” Washington’s TJ Oshie said. “Wasn’t enough to get us the win tonight, obviously thankful we got the point, but we have something to learn from tonight. When we have a breakdown or a penalty, and they pop one, we have to grab things a little bit quicker.”
Ovechkin scored off the power for a 1-0 lead for the Caps. The goal tied the NHL record for career power play goals.
“You know what’s great about ‘Ovi’? That game-tying goal, you see his emotion in the game and that’s what makes him special,” Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette said. “You know what I mean? He loves the game of hockey.”
DeBrincat scored twice on the power play for Chicago.
“Definitely one of the louder times I’ve heard [this building],” DeBrincat said. “Scoring those goals that quick, it’s really exciting for us on the bench, and I’m sure the fans in the building. A win like that is big too.”
Washington dropped to 17-6-6.
Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves in the Capitals loss.
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