WASHINGTON — Evgeny Kuznetsov scored the winning goal, backup Pheonix Copley made 34 saves and the Washington Capitals beat the Avalanche 4-3 in overtime Thursday night to hand struggling Colorado its fifth consecutive loss.
The Avalanche have lost 10 of their past 12 games and are the NHL’s worst team since Dec. 7. Colorado is 5-15-4 in that time, going from tied for the most points in the Western Conference to out of a playoff position.
Semyon Varlamov stopped 38 of the 42 shots he faced, but gave up rebounds and loose pucks all night. Varlamov couldn’t control power-play shots from former Capitals teammate and countryman Alex Ovechkin, allowing Kuznetsov to score his first goal on a tap-in and getting a break on an early whistle on what would have been a goal by Nicklas Backstrom.