The Nashville Predators overcame several turnovers and a one-goal third-period deficit in a 5-4 win against the Washington Capitals.
Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal at 15:23 of the third period and Juuse Saros added 29 saves as Nashville won for the second time in three games. Jarred Tinordi, Mikael Granlund, Rocco Grimaldi and Ryan Johansen also scored for the Predators while Filip Forsberg recorded two assists.
Alex Ovechkin scored a milestone goal and Richard Panik scored twice but the Capitals’ four-game losing streak came to an end.
Ovechkin surpasses Yzerman
The Capitals captain eclipsed another NHL legend in his quest to join the 700-goal club. Ovechkin buried a loose puck late in the first period Wednesday and passed Steve Yzerman for sole possession of ninth place on the NHL’s all-time scoring list with his 693rd goal.
Ovechkin is one goal away from passing Mark Messier and seven goals from becoming the eighth player in NHL history to score 700.
“You’ve had a tremendous career to date, and it looks like you’re going strong and might play forever,” Yzerman said in a video played inside the arena. “Best of luck and continued success. I’ve really enjoyed watching you play and watching you fill the net.
“One more thing, if you ever do break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record for most goals in the league, after watching your Stanley Cup celebrations, I want to be invited to your party.”
No. 693 for Alex Ovechkin!
— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) January 30, 2020
The 9th MOST in NHL history. @Capitals | #NSHvsWSH pic.twitter.com/34ntg5e4Yq
[RELATED: Alex Ovechkin honors late Kobe Bryant with No. 24 jersey]
What in the World?
Each goalie made a crucial mistake and Nick Bonino managed to score an own-goal in a wacky back-and-forth game between the Capitals and Predators.
Ovechkin pulled the Capitals to within one goal late in the first period when Juuse Saros misplayed a puck behind the net that resulted in an easy tap-in opportunity for the Russian forward.
But the Predators were not finished with mind-boggling mistakes as Bonino’s outlet pass ended up in the back of the net early in the middle frame. Nashville’s center paid the price for a bad pass through the crease when the puck deflected off Saros and the Capitals tied the game at 3-3.
However, in order to even things out, Braden Holtby had a costly turnover early in the third period that directly led to Johansen’s game-tying goal.
All in all, these mistakes are not what would you expect from highly skilled NHL teams.
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Scott Charles is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @ScottMCharles.