A slow start in Washington, DC, was not enough to keep the Anaheim Ducks discouraged.
The Capitals opened up a 3-1 lead through the first 20 minutes of play Sunday afternoon.
But the Ducks replied with a steady offense and kept the pressure up through the end of the middle frame and scored three times in the third period for a 6-5 win.
Pontus Aberg struck for two goals including the game-winner in the third.
“An empty net,” Aberg said of the game-winner. “I just tried to be patient not to rush it because I didn’t want to miss that one. [Holtby] put his stick up and fortunately it went in.”
Ryan Getzlaf, Rickard Rakell, Andrew Cogliano, and Hampus Lindholm each had a goal and an assist.
John Gibson got the start for the Ducks but was given the hook in the first period after surrendering the 3-1 deficit; he made eight saves.
“Believe me, there wasn’t anybody on that bench accepting where we were just because we’d had some success previously in winning three in a row,” Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle said. “That wasn’t even in their minds.”
Ryan Miller relieved Gibson and got the win to tie John Vanbiesbrouck for most wins by a US-born goalie at 347.
“It was a wild game to have it happen. It’s probably the right way to do it,” Miller said after Anaheim’s fourth straight win. “I’ve had a lot of guys over the years put it on the line so I could get a win in my column, and tonight’s a reflection of that kind of group effort.”
Tom Wilson, Chandler Stephenson, Nic Dowd, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Niklas Backstrom scored for the Capitals.
“We had a couple letdowns, the building got a little quiet and the game got away from us,” Dowd said.
The Caps held a 5-1 lead in the middle frame before the Ducks rallied with five unanswered goals.
“Should have shut them down there with a 5-1 lead,” Backstrom said. “They shouldn’t be able to come back. They’re a good team and they’ve got some skill on there, so that’s what’s going to happen when we turn pucks over and give them room on the PP.”
The Ducks moved to 14-10-5 with the win.
“After 10 [minutes] in the second [period] there, we took the game over. I don’t know if they stopped playing, but we turned [it] up. I think we played well from there and the last 10 [minutes] in the third, the game is ours. Good for us,” Aberg said.
The Caps dropped to 15-8-3.
[WATCH: All Ducks vs. Capitals highlights]
Braden Holtby made 19 saves in the loss.
“I think we lost a little bit of focus and our ability to have had success over the streak was playing a certain way and we stopped playing that way, and then they were able to capitalize. They’re a good team. The League’s too good and you give them chances, they’re going to convert. It’s a good lesson, but a hard lesson,” Caps head coach Todd Reirden said after the loss.
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