Miller becomes US-born goalies win leader in Ducks’ win
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Ryan Miller picked up a milestone win in his first game in two months.
Miller became the all-time leader in wins by a U.S.-born goaltender Sunday night as he made 23 saves in the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday night.
It was Miller's 375th victory, breaking a tie with John Vanbiesbrouck.
"He's definitely a goalie I looked up to and a nice moment. He was fixture through the 1980s and '90s when I was growing up and watching hockey," Miller said. "I was happy I could do it at home with the family here."
Miller tied Vanbiesbrouck on Dec. 2, when the Ducks rallied for a win at Washington. The 17-year veteran though had not played since Dec. 9 due to a knee injury.
"It is very satisfying to come off an injury and make a difference. When you have a knee injury you are never sure what will happen and it took longer than I had hoped," Miller said. "I had a few clunky moments but I worked through it."
Anaheim is last in the NHL in goals scored but it is another story against Washington. The Ducks scored 11 times in the two meetings this season, including six in the third periods.
Adam Henrique and Jakob Silfverberg each had two goals as the Ducks broke a 2-2 tie after two periods with three goals in the third, with the first two coming on the power play.
Alex Ovechkin scored his 40th goal of the season for Washington to become the fourth player in NHL history with 10 or more 40-goal seasons. Wayne Gretzky had 12 while Marcel Dionne and Mario Lemieux each had 10.
John Carlson also scored for the Capitals and Braden Holtby made 34 saves.
"We were probably fortunate to be tied going in to the third," Washington defenseman Brooks Orpik said. "Obviously, it's easy to point to special teams and penalties, but there was a lot going on before that. We just weren't very sharp."
Henrique gave the Ducks a 3-2 lead when he scored on a power play 37 seconds into the third. Henrique — who also had an assist — got a loose puck in front of the net in traffic and put it in the net when the Capitals were unable to clear.
Corey Perry added a goal and an assist. His power-play goal on a one-timer from Cam Fowler at 3:40 of the third was his first in eight games. Perry missed the first 51 games after undergoing right knee surgery last September.
Silfverberg's team-leading 15th of the season at 14:55 put the Ducks up by three.
"We played a full game we've been searching for. No matter what happened in the game, we responded and stuck to the game plan," Henrique said. "We kept putting pucks in, kept getting pressure and kept skating."
Ovechkin's one-timer from the left faceoff circle during a Washington power play at 4:58 of the first gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead. Ovechkin, who leads the league in goals, has three goals and seven assists in his last seven games.
Anaheim tied it at 6:26 of the second when Henrique redirected Brandon Montour's shot.
The Ducks took a 2-1 lead at 14:07 on a tic-tac-toe goal when Hampus Lindholm found Silfverberg in front of the goal. Silfverberg then passed it to Henrique on a two-man rush and got it back on a return feed to put it past Holtby.
Carlson tied it at 17:01 as he lofted a wrist shot from near the blue line that found its way through traffic for his ninth of the season.
NOTES: Anaheim C Ryan Getzlaf had two assists for his eighth multi-assist game of the season. He leads the team in assists (27) and points (38). ... The Ducks are 2-1 since Bob Murray replaced Randy Carlyle as head coach on Feb. 10. ... Fowler's assist was his 205th, lifting him past Scott Niedermayer for most assists by a defenseman in Ducks history. Coincidentally, Niedermayer had his jersey retired before the game. ... Capitals RW T.J. Oshie suffered an upper-body injury during the second period and did not return.
UP NEXT
Capitals: Continue their six-game road trip at Los Angeles on Monday night.
Ducks: Travel to Minnesota on Tuesday night to begin a four-game road swing.
