Capitals Overcome Two-Goal Deficit, Beat Flames In Shootout

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The first milestone of Spencer Carbery’s head coaching career has been secured.

The Washington Capitals overcame a two-goal deficit to the Calgary Flames Monday, battling back to eek out a 3-2 shootout win.

The Flames took the game over from the opening draw, pummeling Capitals goalie Darcy Kuemper with 14 shots over the game’s first five minutes. One of those, off the stick of Adam Ruzicka, found its way past Kuemper for the first goal of the game and an early Flames lead.

Despite the offensive onslaught from the Flames, Kuemper remained strong between the pipes. Another shot was deflected by Dillon Dube before trickling between Kuemper’s legs and into the net, but the 33-year-old’s 16 saves kept the Capitals within arm’s reach.

Once the second period came around, it didn’t take long for the Capitals to begin their fight back. Matthew Phillips tallied his first career goal — coming against his old team — nearly seven minutes into the period, before Connor McMichael tied the score at 2-2 three minutes later.

The tie remained intact through the third period and overtime, forcing a shootout. After Evgeny Kuznetsov made the Capitals’ first shot, the Flames could not push one past Kuemper, resulting in the Capitals’ first win of the season.

KUEMPER’S BACK

Outside of the two goals he surrendered, Kuemper ended the night with 38 saves.

OFF TO THE BOX

Evgeny Kuznetsov drew two penalties in the first period — one for interference, one for hooking — but stayed clean the rest of the night. Four other Capitals hit the penalty box: Aliaksei Protas, for hooking; Alex Alexeyev, for tripping; TJ Oshie, for interference; and Tom Wilson, for tripping.

UP NEXT

The Capitals begin a two-game road trip on Wednesday. They’ll start with the Ottawa Senators (2-1-0), with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m.