NHL scores 2016: Capitals shake off rough start to snag one point against scrappy Flyers

For the first 20 minutes of Wednesday night's game against the Flyers, the Washington Capitals certainly looked like a team that hadn't played a game of hockey in eight days. Thanks to a major snowstorm and two game postponements, the Capitals had over a week between their last game, a win at Columbus, and their final game before the All-Star break at home.

And that rust showed big time. With just six shots on goal in the first period coming into a middle frame down 2-0 to a Flyers team that was winless in their last three games, there was no question the Capitals looked like they were coming off a long vacation.

Yet, counting out the Capitals is something one should never do, especially considering the talent on their roster. For the remaining 40 minutes, Washington showed Philadelphia just what it means to be sitting at the top of the league's standings heading into the All-Star break, as they outshot the Flyers 24-18 in the final two periods of regulation.

To their credit, the Flyers did match the Capitals beat for beat. After two Capitals goals 55 seconds apart to tie the game, Jakub Voracek answered back with less than three minutes remaining in the second period to give the Flyers the lead back again.

Voracek would be called on later after Andre Burakovsky's goal in the third sent the game to overtime. Thirty-eight seconds into the extra hockey period, Voracek ended the Capitals home winning streak of 12 games with one hell of a solo effort to give the Flyers a great boost heading into the break.

When the Capitals could have rolled over and taken the rest of the game off with a loss sitting squarely between their shoulders, they didn't. A lazier team might have, especially with the week-long break now in full swing for much of the league. Not Washington, despite their four-point lead above the chasing Blackhawks. It was a point well-earned for the Capitals, and one they most certainly will take to keep them atop the NHL.

Tampa Bay Lightning 1, Toronto Maple Leafs 0

Philadelphia Flyers 4, Washington Capitals 3 (OT)

Nashville Predators 2, Calgary Flames 1

Colorado Avalanche 4, Los Angeles Kings 3

1. Andrei Vasilevskiy earned his second career shutout in front of his parents

Nothing like a 30-save shutout performance to showcase how well your career is going to your parents. Second year Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy put up just his second career shutout in a key 1-0 Tampa Bay win over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs, and he did it with his parents watching.

Vasilevskiy's parents were in stands for 1st NHL game. "I showed them I can play in the NHL. It's an amazing feeling," he said. #TBLightning

— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) January 28, 2016

The win is Vasilevskiy's sixth victory in a row and the goaltender has played quite well. In 14 games, Vasilevskiy has a .914 save percentage with an 8-4 record and remains a key part of the Lightning organization as the backup to starting goaltender Ben Bishop.

2. Alex Ovechkin will not showcase his talents at the All-Star Game

A disappointing bit of news, but Ovechkin will not be leading the Metropolitan Division All-Stars this weekend due to a lower-body injury. While the timing is suspicious, in that Ovechkin had just played almost 20 minutes against the Flyers before this news dropped after the Capitals loss, there could be more to this injury, and it might be the snow storm's fault.

Ovi said he aggravated the injury cleaning up after the snowstorm. "I was cleaning some snow on my house. It was my bad decision."

— Katie Brown (@katiebhockey) January 28, 2016

Ovechkin spent the weekend helping his neighbors dig themselves out of the massive storm that hit the Washington, D.C. area. Because of his generosity, he will miss the All-Star game and take the one-game suspension that will keep him from playing against the Panthers on Feb. 2, according to the CBA rules.

Two third-period goals in three minutes were the difference for Colorado as the Avalanche sunk the Kings in a huge 4-3 win on the road. The Avalanche rallied twice from various deficits to beat the Kings, who were looking to jump the St. Louis Blues for the fourth spot atop the NHL standings. A pair of goals from captain Gabriel Landeskog, including the pivotal 3-3 tying tally with 7:38 gone in the final period helped the Avalanche to their fifth win in six games as they start to climb out of the Central Division basement.

NHL referees had a bad evening. First, Dennis Wideman decked a linesman on his way back to the bench in what may or may not have been an accident.

Then, Milan Lucic, fresh off of a one-game suspension for a sucker-punch to the head of Kevin Connauton, got into a tussle and accidentally punched a referee in the face during the scrum.

Carter Hutton made 26 saves as @PredsNHL concluded their four-game road trip of Western Canada undefeated (4-0-0). pic.twitter.com/peAoNX2JNK

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 28, 2016