NHL Daily Recap 2/17/16: Kings fall to Washington, Ducks beat Oilers

For the latest NHL news, check out The DSH's Daily Power Play Recap below:

KINGS LOSE TO WASHINGTON, 3-1

Down 1-0 late in the second period, the Capitals scored three unanswered goals – including the tiebreaker by Evgeny Kuznetsov with 2:02 remaining in regulation – to improve to 15-1-1 in their last 17 games at Verizon Center dating to Nov. 21.

At 41-10-4 (86 points), the League-leading Capitals continued their best start to a season – in terms of wins and points – in franchise history. Their 41 victories (through 55 GP) are four shy of equaling their total from 2014-15 (45-26-11).

Kuznetsov, who ranks fifth in the NHL with 16-41—57 this season (55 GP), has collected 3-17—20 in his last 14 outings. He picked up his fourth game-winning goal of the campaign after registering one such tally in his first 97 career appearances.

Andre Burakovsky added 1-1—2, including an assist on Kuznetsov’s goal, for his sixth multi-point game of the season. He has posted at least one point in 12 of his last 14 contests, compiling 8-9—17 in that span.

Philipp Grubauer made 39 saves, including 19 in the third period, to improve to 6-4-1 this season (2.13 GAA, .925 SV%). That features a 1.64 goals-against average and .945 save percentage in his last nine appearances (4-2-0).

Capitals forwards Mike Richards and Justin Williams (0-1—1), who won two Stanley Cups with the Kings, played their first game against their former team following offseason departures. Richards totaled 46-87—133 with Los Angeles (257 GP), while Williams posted 103-163—266 (427 GP) and won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2013-14.

Kings forward Anze Kopitar registered his 10th career shorthanded goal and first since March 13, 2012 vs. DET.

The Kings' loss made things a little tighter in their division because . . .

DUCKS DEFEAT EDMONTON, 5-3

Five Ducks scored – including former Oilers forward David Perron – to lift the club to its 10th victory in its last 12 games (10-1-1) as well as a 17-4-2 record dating to Dec. 27. Perron has recorded 6-7—13 in 13 outings since joining Anaheim; he totaled 4-12—16 through his first 43 games of the season (w/ PIT).

The Ducks scored two empty-net goals for the first time in franchise history to secure the win. The contest also marked the first time Anaheim scored an empty net, shorthanded, game-winning goal (Andrew Cogliano).

Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf (0-1—1) extended his assist/point streak to six games (2-8—10). He also stretched his road point streak to nine games (3-12—15).

Frederik Andersen made 24 saves to improve to 9-0-1 in his last 10 decisions following a 5-8-5 start to the campaign. He also boosted his record to 5-0-1 in six career appearances vs. EDM (2.16 GAA, .916 SV%).

DUCKS REPORT: ANAHEIM CONCLUDES 7-GAME TRIP TOMORROW

The Anaheim Ducks tomorrow conclude a season-high seven-game road trip that has seen the club play in all four time zones and seven cities over 13 days. With 7,300 miles travelled, the Ducks have posted a 4-1-1 record on the trip and won the last three in a row (3-0-0).

Anaheim owns the NHL’s top record since Christmas, going 17-4-2 for a .783 points percentage, and now sits in second place of the Pacific Division (29-19-8, 66 pts.). The club has gone 10-1-1 in the last 12 games and enters tomorrow’s contest in Vancouver on a five-game winning streak vs. the Pacific along with a 9-1-1 mark in its last 11 intra-division games. In addition, Anaheim has points in the last five road games (4-0-1, 9 pts.) and 12 of the last 13 (9-1-3, 21 pts.).

Ryan Getzlaf co-leads NHL skaters in scoring since the All-Star break, collecting 3-10=13 points in nine games. Getzlaf also leads the league in plus/minus (+11) and ranks second in assists since Feb. 1. The Anaheim captain has points in nine consecutive road games (3-12=15, +10) and multiple points in seven of the nine.

The last Ducks player with a road point streak of nine games or longer was Getzlaf himself, who recorded points in 11 straight road games from Nov. 20, 2014-Jan. 17, 2015 (7-12=19). He owns points/assists in the last six consecutive games overall, collecting 2-8=10 since the streak began at the start of the road trip on Feb. 8 in Pittsburgh. His six-game assist streak is the currently the second-longest active streak in the NHL, behind only San Jose’s Marc-Edouard Vlasic (eight games, 0-8=8).

Frederik Andersen has won nine of his last 10 decisions (9-0-1 in 11 appearances) and not lost in regulation since Dec. 21 at the New York Islanders. Andersen is riding a three-game winning streak and leads NHL goaltenders in wins (6-0-1) and ranks seventh in saves (178) since the All-Star break. He has limited the opposition to two goals or less in 22 of his 32 appearances this season.

Andrew Cogliano is one game shy of matching Vancouver’s Henrik Sedin (679) for the sixth-longest Ironman streak in NHL history. Cogliano, who scored the first shorthanded, empty net, game-winning goal in franchise history and finished with a career-high +4 rating last night in Edmonton, is the NHL’s reigning Ironman with 678 consecutive games played.

Since making his Anaheim debut on Jan. 17 vs. Los Angeles, David Perron ranks second among NHL leaders in plus/minus (+11). Perron also ranks tied for second on the Ducks in goals, third in scoring (5-7=12) and tied for third in assists following his arrival from Pittsburgh. Perron’s +11 rating is two behind league-leader and linemate Ryan Getzlaf (+13). Mike Santorelli, who recently joined the Perron-Getzlaf line, is now tied for second among NHL leaders in shooting percentage (33.3%; min. 10 games) since Jan. 17.

TUESDAY’S RESULTS (Home Team in Caps)

Philadelphia 6, NEW JERSEY 3
WASHINGTON 3, Los Angeles 1
CAROLINA 2, Winnipeg 1
Boston 2, COLUMBUS 1 (OT)
OTTAWA 2, Buffalo 1 (SO)
San Jose 4, TAMPA BAY 2
ST. LOUIS 2, Dallas 1 (OT)
Anaheim 5, EDMONTON 3

BLACKHAWKS VISIT RANGERS ON RIVALRY NIGHT

Original Six clubs face off when the Blackhawks (37-18-5, 79 points) visit the Rangers (32-18-6, 70 points) at Madison Square Garden on NBCSN’s Wednesday Night Rivalry. These teams have not met since the opening night of the season, when New York spoiled Chicago’s banner-raising ceremony with a 3-2 victory at United Center.

The Rangers boast an 8-3-2 record in the 13 head-to-head matchups between these clubs since the start of the 2005-06 campaign (CHI: 5-6-2). That includes a 4-2-0 clip at Madison Square Garden (CHI: 2-4-0), though the Blackhawks earned a 1-0 win in their most recent visit on March 18, 2015, behind 25 saves from Scott Darling and the lone goal from Brad Richards (at 7:19 of the third period).

WEDNESDAY’S ACTION (All Times Eastern)

Chicago @ NY Rangers, 8:00 p.m., NBCSN, TVAS
Montreal @ Colorado, 8:00 p.m., SN, RDS, ALT
Minnesota @ Calgary, 10:00 p.m., SN1, FS-N, FS-WI

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services