WASHINGTON (AP) – Justin Williams and Tom Wilson scored as the Washington Capitals beat the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 on Friday night to tie the franchise record with their 13th consecutive home victory.
Williams’ game-winner in the third period was his 19th of the season. Washington’s streak of home games with five-plus goals ended at 11, but Braden Holtby made 30 saves to pad the team’s lead atop the NHL.
Evgeny Kuznetsov didn’t have a point but was arguably the Capitals’ best player against Edmonton. They have now outscored opponents 64-20 during their home winning streak.
Leon Draisaitl scored his team-leading 23rd goal of the season for Edmonton, which got 24 saves from goaltender Cam Talbot.
The Capitals had their most patchwork lineup of the season with injured regulars Matt Niskanen, Brooks Orpik and T.J. Oshie out along with Andre Burakovsky, who’s expected to be back in mid-to-late March. Washington is the league’s healthiest team this season with only 27 man games lost to injury, but four players out at one time meant the NHL debut of rookie forward Riley Barber and season debut of defenseman Aaron Ness.