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Howard shakes off Ovechkin’s late goal to win in return for Detroit

howardjimmygetty

James OBrien

Alex Ovechkin stole a point for the Washington Capitals with a game-tying goal with seven seconds left in the third period, but Jimmy Howard and the Detroit Red Wings eked out a 5-4 shootout win on Friday.

Both goalies figured into the proceedings. Howard made some big third-period saves before Ovechkin’s timely tally while Michal Neuvirth kept the Caps in the game, making 42 out of 45 saves and stopping six of seven shootout attempts. Unfortunately for him, Howard was perfect in the “skills competition” to win in his return to action.

Neuvirth had quite the duel with Gustav Nyquist, making this gorgeous glove save against him but then being beaten for a third-period goal.

Here’s the big save:

Then Nyquist gets some revenge:

Assuming this doesn’t get changed to a Joel Ward tip-in, Ovechkin collected his 39th of the season when his team needed it the most:

Both teams would likely prefer to find themselves in these situations less often; the Red Wings are now 4-8 in shootouts while the Capitals fell to 8-7 in that format.

Overall, there are pros and cons for both squads following an exciting game.

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins