WASHINGTON – Ryan Getzlaf scored 4:03 into overtime to give the Anaheim Ducks a 2-1 victory over the Capitals and send Washington to its seventh straight loss.
The Capitals are on their worst skid since Bruce Boudreau became coach just over three years ago.
Getzlaf did much of the winning play himself. He outfought defenseman John Carlson for the puck on the left boards, spun around and fired a shot past goalie Semyon Varlamov from the circle.
The Capitals finished with a 32-24 edge in shots, but the game was even after Washington controlled the first period. Washington had 17 shots in the first, a period in which the Capitals took a 1-0 lead on Brooks Laich's goal.
But the Ducks slowed the Capitals in the second and tied it on Joffrey Lupul's power-play goal. Lupul got to a loose puck just in front of Varlamov and pushed it past him with 7:13 left in the period.
Washington's scoring troubles still haven't been solved.
The Capitals' usually high-powered offense has been shut out four times in 14 games and produced only nine goals during the seven-game skid.
Washington nearly extended its one-goal lead, but Alex Ovechkin hit the crossbar with a shot during a second-period breakaway. Anaheim goalie Jonas Hiller robbed Nicklas Backstrom with a diving stop a few minutes later.
Anaheim blocked 20 shots and hounded the Capitals in the offensive zone, limiting them to 15 shots after the first period.
NOTES: Alexander Semin, the Capitals leading goal scorer with 18 didn't play because of an injury. ... These teams will meet twice this season for the first time since the 2002-03 season. ... Lupul scored the game-winning goal for Philadelphia against Washington in Game 7 of a playoff series in 2008. ... Anaheim's Lubomir Visnovsky earned his fifth assist in four games.
