Ryan Nugent-Hopkins breaks late tie, Oilers beat Capitals

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Ryan Nugent-Hopkins broke a tie with a short-handed goal with 4:03 remaining in the Edmonton Oilers’ 5-3 victory over the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night in the final game for both teams before the All-Star break.

Nugent-Hopkins added an empty-net goal with 1:05 remaining to wrap up the Oilers’ fifth victory in six games.

"We put ourselves, obviously, in a good position early in the game and it’s not like we stopped playing," Nugent-Hopkins said. "They just had a push, and they fought their way back in the game. But we stuck with it as much as we could and found a way to get it done."

Washington played without Alex Ovechkin after he entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols Wednesday. The Russian star also will miss the All-Star Game.

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Edmonton Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen (19) and center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) celebrate after the team's NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, in Washington. The Oilers won 5-3. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Leon Draisaitl, Evander Kane and Connor McDavid scored goals in the first 5:07 to give the Oilers a 3-0 lead. Mikko Koskinen stopped 24 shots.

Lars Eller, Conor Sheary and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored for Washington.

After allowing three goals and stopping just one shot, Ilya Samsonov was replaced by Pheonix Copley, who stopped 21 shots.

"It was tough, certainly not the way you want to start the game," Washington coach Peter Laviolette said. "You look up, and quickly in a game you’re down three. It’s a real high mountain to get back. I think it just lets the air out too on the bench and in the building. It makes it a little bit