First Period

In the early stages, Washington forward Ryan Leonard was tied up by Gabe Landeskog and, taking exception, responded by slashing Landeskog on the right leg, but no penalty was called.

At the 3:14 mark of the period, Cole Hutson was penalized for holding Nathan MacKinnon, giving the Avalanche a power play, though they were unable to convert.

Later, Nic Roy, who had been moved down to the fourth-line center spot for this game, was sent to the box for high-sticking Trevor van Riemsdyk, but like the Avalanche, the Capitals could not capitalize on the man advantage.

A scary moment occurred when Devon Toews tripped Capitals forward Ethan Frank as he closed in on Blackwood. The contact sent Frank crashing into the post, arm first. After writhing in pain in the crease, Frank managed to get up on his own but was holding his injured arm and immediately headed down the tunnel.

Surprisingly, Toews was not penalized for the previous play. However, the Capitals would respond with a goal when rookie Justin Sourdif got behind the defense and ripped a wrister by Blackwood at the 11:53 mark to make it a 1-0 game.

Colorado went on their second penalty kill of the period with 5:50 left when Parker Kelly was called for slashing. 

Second Period

Alexander Ovechkin was penalized for hooking Cale Makar at the 4:29 mark of the second period, but the Avalanche failed to convert on the power play. The Capitals even had a prime shorthanded chance near the end of the man advantage.

Not much else happened in the period, though Parker Kelly had a late breakaway opportunity. Thompson made the stop just before Kelly took a hard hit while trying to regain control of the puck.

After two periods, the Capitals still held a 1-0 lead, with both teams recording 14 shots on goal.

Third Period

After a sluggish second period, the Avalanche came alive in the third. Thompson played the puck behind his own net and turned it over, allowing Martin Necas to scoop it up and find Landeskog wide open in the slot. Landeskog fired the puck into the empty net to tie the game at 1.

Nearly four minutes later, Roy forced a turnover in front of the Capitals’ net and quickly fired a wrist shot past Thompson. In just 240 seconds, the Avalanche went from trailing to leading the game.

Josh Manson was subsequently penalized for tripping Aliaksei Protas, but the Avs killed the penalty as the unit improved to 4/4 on the day. 

Landeskog was sent to the box for holding with 6:03 left in the game and the Capitals were rewarded with their fifth power play of the game.