The Capitals rallied back in the third period to hand the Rangers their fourth straight loss.
WASHINGTON — Working without Alex Ovechkin, the Washington Capitals were searching for that "killer instinct." They found it later in the game New York Rangers, and it was enough to lead the way to two points.
After trailing 2-1 after the second, Washington battled back and found a spark in the third for a dominant 3-2 win over the Rangers.
Here are all the takeaways from the win, which moves the Capitals within one point of a Wild Card spot and hands New York its fourth straight loss:
Oshie, Dowd Spark Capitals Offense For Third-Period Comeback
Washington was in need of some kind of spark after the second, as the team was down 2-1 and failed to find that extra gear to get some offense going and put pucks on net at 5-on-5.
The Capitals stepped up big time in the third period, though, to take the game back. They were faster and had more bite to them, winning puck battles and getting to the interior.
That led to Nic Dowd tying the game after a power-play attempt, as he got to the crease and redirected an Evgeny Kuznetsov wraparound to even the score at 2.
Dowd has been a force to be reckoned with for the Capitals, picking up points in five of his last seven outings.
Minutes later, T.J. Oshie would score his first goal since returning from injury after tapping in a nice feed from Dylan Strome, who battled to keep the puck alive in the offensive zone, to give D.C. the lead.
Oshie now has points in three of his last four games, including goals in two of the last three. Strome also hit the 10-assist mark with his helper.
Mantha Matches Capitals Single-Season High In Goals
It had been a moment since Anthony Mantha last scored, as he cooled down a bit following a red-hot stretch back in December. However, he was able to rediscover that spark on Saturday to set a new single-season high in goals with the Capitals.
Mantha turned on the jets and went on a breakaway, picking up a great feed from Connor McMichael before deking and beating Quick on a nice move to make it a 1-1 game.
The 29-year-old had only managed 11 goals or fewer in a season during his tenure with D.C. but is now on pace for 26 goals, which would be a career-high. His highest total was 25.
Charlie Lindgren Makes Return From Injury, Capitals Debut New Defensive Pairings
Washington also got a strong performance in net from Charlie Lindgren, who was making his return to the crease for the first time since Dec. 29, when he was hurt in the opening minutes of a tilt with the New York Islanders.
Lindgren was agile in the crease and tracking pucks well, while also doing a good job of managing the tempo and stopping the Rangers' top brass in their tracks. Both goals against came on miscues, one where he lost his balance and another where Connor McMichael turned it over to Fox at the point.
The 30-year-old netminder ultimately made 25 saves on 27 shots (.926) to add to his impressive stat line.
Meanwhile, there were some new blue line pairings, as Ethan Bear played on his off-side and went to operate with Nick Jensen. Trevor van Riemsdyk went back to his natural right side to play with Joel Edmundson. It worked well for the most part.
Alex Ovechkin Held Out Of The Lineup
The Capitals were left without Ovechkin due to a lower-body injury, and his status remains up in the air for Sunday.
Ovechkin was initially injured on Jan. 5 when he collided with Jordan Staal. He has missed four of the last five practices.
Still, the team was able to get a big win without him in the mix for the first time this season.