Carlson Tributes WASHINGTON — In the final game before a needed refresh and lengthy 4 Nations break, the Washington Capitals looked out of it. But as they've done time and time again this season, they found a way to get a point. Tom Wilson's two-goal performance and three assists from Alex Ovechkin helped the Capitals force overtime and an eventual shootout, but the team lost the skills competition in a 5-4 loss. Here are the takeaways. CAPITALS' UGLY START LEADS TO LOSS Within the first two minutes of play, it was easy to see that Washington didn't have its head in the game to kick things off against Utah. The Hockey Club went up 2-0 in the first 1:42, with Josh Doan and Michael Carcone beating Logan Thompson with the defense in front lacking. Though Tom Wilson made it 2-1 on an early power play, Utah quickly restored the two-goal lead with Jack McBain beating Thompson glove side. Thompson, who entered the game second in the NHL in save percentage, gave up three goals on the first seven shots against. Toward the end of the first period, the Capitals appeared to start to claw back into it, outshooting the Hockey Club and getting another power-play goal, this time from Pierre-Luc Dubois. However, Dylan Guenther's early second-period power-play goal made it 4-2, and it was the ugly start that create a big hole to climb out of. CAPITALS SHAKE UP LINES AMID TIRED EFFORT, PULL OFF FURIOUS RALLY With Washington struggling to get much going and falling behind after a rough start to play, coach Spencer Carbery shook up the lines to ignite a spark from his group. Ethen Frank moved up to work with Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strome on the first line, while Tom Wilson went to operate with Aliaksei Protas and Pierre-Luc Dubois on the second line. Connor McMichael and Andrew Mangiapane played with Lars Eller on the third trio, and Taylor Raddysh was reunited with Brandon Duhaime and Nic Dowd. McMichael and Frank switched places in the third. The defensive pairings also changed, as Jakob Chychrun went to work with John Carlson in the third while Rasmus Sandin got paired with Trevor van Riemsdyk. Strome was able to pull his team to 4-3, and with the goalie pulled, Wilson scored his second of the game in tight to send things to extra time. Wilson now has goals in three of his last four games, and John Carlson also picked up an assist on the play to extend his assist streak to six games. Despite the comeback, shootouts continue to plague D.C., leading to the loss. Pierre-Luc Dubois, Aliaksei Protas and Dylan Strome didn't score on their attempts, and Nick Schmaltz had the shootout winner for Utah. TOP SHELF TAKES - Alex Ovechkin picked up three assists to extend his point streak to five games and pass Phil Esposito for 11th on the NHL's all-time points list. - Dylan Strome extended his point streak to six games with a goal and assist. - John Carlson was honored for hitting 700 points in a pregame ceremony. - Logan Thompson stopped 22 of 26 shots in what marked jus his third regulation loss all season.
