Vegas Beats Caps For 3rd Straight Win; Ovi Stuck On 698
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Max Pacioretty scored his team-high 27th goal and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 on Monday night.
Nick Holden and Reilly Smith also scored for the Golden Knights, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves.
Alex Ovechkin remained stuck on 698 career goals after being held without a point for the fifth consecutive game, his longest drought of the season.
It was Vegas' third-straight victory, and it improved to 7-3-2 since coach Pete DeBoer took over for Gerard Gallant, who was fired on Jan. 15.
T.J. Oshie scored both goals for Washington in the third period. Braden Holtby made 26 saves
Vegas got on the board in the opening minutes of the game when Holden tipped a pass from William Carrier for his fifth goal of the season. The five goals are the most he's scored since netting 11 three seasons ago with the New York Rangers.
Smith made it 2-0 later in the period when he sliced into the slot and chipped in Jonathan Marchessault's pass over Holtby's shoulder. It was the second straight game Smith scored for Vegas, after netting the lone goal in a 1-0 win over the New York Islanders on Saturday.
After 14 minutes of a mostly quiet second period, William Karlsson fired a pass to Pacioretty, whose one-timer slipped under Jonas Siegenthaler and past Holtby.
Oshie ruined Fleury's bid for a second-straight shutout when his wrist shot from the right circle went far side, top shelf of the 11:13 mark of the third period.
Two minutes later, Oshie cut the deficit to one goal when his blistering one-timer on the power play to put the Capitals back in the game.
NOTES: While much of the focus has been Ovechkin's milestone chase, Washington's John Carlson is just two points shy of passing Calle Johansson (474) for the most points by a defenseman in franchise history. Carlson assisted on Oshie's second goal.
UP NEXT
Washington: Hosts Montreal on Thursday.
Vegas: Hosts Tampa Bay on Thursday.
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