After a surprisingly successful west coast swing, the Washington Capitals faced the Los Angeles Kings for the second time in a week, this time on home turf. After running off with a lead to start the game, the Capitals couldn’t hold the Kings comeback, and lost 5-4 in the shootout.

The Capitals got off to a great start (on the power play, as it were). Alex Ovechkin scored his 47th goal of the season, assisted by John Carlson and Troy Brouwer.

Less than five minutes later, Ovechkin scored on a power play again, his 48th goal of the season assisted by Brouwer and Nicklas Backstrom.

While the first period was all Capitals, the second period belonged to the Kings, who spent much quality time in the Caps zone, and had something to show for it. Mike Richards scored on the power play, and the Kings continued to chip at the Caps lead.

In the meantime, Chris Brown, Troy Brouwer, and Nicklas Backstrom each had their turn going down the tunnel for various ailments. Brown and Brouwer returned to the game, but Backstrom did not. Capitals coach Adam Oates told reporters post game that Backstrom is not undergoing concussion protocol, and called it an “upper body injury”.

Dustin Penner scored his first goal as a Capital late in the second, assisted by Brown, who’d just returned to the bench. The assist marked Brown’s first NHL point. The momentum didn’t carry to the third period the way the Capitals would have liked.

The Kings scored three unanswered goals to take a 4-3 lead halfway through the third period.

John Carlson took a hooking penalty with a minute left in regulation, but the Capitals iced a penalty kill that Karl Alzner called “desperate”. So desperate, in fact, that it led to Russian youth Evgeny Kuznetsov’s first career goal, a shorthanded tally that sent the game to overtime.

Alex Ovechkin scrambled to the goal line to retrieve the puck for Kuznetsov, and the crowd began throwing hats, because they thought he was the one who scored.

“It was a big goal that actually got us a point,” coach Adam Oates said. “Shorthanded. It was a good play. We won a draw, Orly [Dmitry Orlov] makes a nice run up the ice, which gives us a chance to get the goalie out. We dumped it in, and then I’m sure they relaxed just enough; it’s a weird situation. Sometimes those goals go in. It was a big goal for him and us; it gets us a point.”

The Capitals fell in the shootout, but got a little help from the Toronto Maple Leafs, who fell 5-3 in regulation to the St. Louis Blues.

Ovechkin collided with Jack Hillen in the neutral zone during overtime, which appeared to render Hillen unconscious. Hillen was able to stand and leave the ice, and Ovechkin returned to play despite looking a little shaken up after the hit.

Two points were what they needed, but they had to settle for one. There’s still work to be done if they want to make the playoffs, and their next obstacle is the Boston Bruins on Saturday. Maybe the Leafs will help the Capitals out a little more in the meantime.