The Colorado Avalanche could not hold a 2-0 lead on Thursday night and lost as the Washington Capitols rallied for a 3-2 win.
T.J. Oshie picked up the game-winner with just over two minutes left in regulation.
Braden Holtby settled down and got the win for the Capitals file photo by Lewis Bleiman
Braden Holtby made 32 saves in the win after settling gown from an erratic first period.
“I think it was not acceptable,” Nicklas Backstrom said of the first period effort. “The way we’ve been playing lately too, it’s not acceptable. We’ve been talking about details and stuff like that, and we’re going out in the first period and we’re not even there, and I think in this League you have to be aware of what you’re doing out there at all times. I think we bounced back pretty good after that and worked ourselves into the game.”
Mikko Rantanen and Andre Burakovsky were the Avs strikers.
“Real good team in Washington, they have something to say about it,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “They come at us in the third, we do a job, survive for a while, but we didn’t win enough battles. We won some races, but we didn’t win enough battles. We needed more jam, more jam at the end of the game, more desire to win the game.”
Tom Wilson and Backstrom also scored for the Caps.
“Definitely as the game went on I felt our game kept building and was getting better in all areas,” Washington coach Todd Reirden said. “Obviously a lot of guys stepped up and I thought we played way more as a team. We were more connected and in sync tonight after two good days of practice. To pull out a win, coming from behind, it’s a big win for our team to start this road trip.”
[WATCH: All Capitals vs. Avalanche highlights]
Philipp Grubauer made 35 saves in the loss.
“They scored two (third-period) goals and capitalized on a stupid penalty that I took,” Burakovsky said. “They won more battles than we did in the third and I think we have to battle through it and find a way.”
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