Capitals 5, Lightning 3: Captain Alex Ovechkin scored a pair of goals to snap a four-game point drought as visiting Washington earned its third consecutive victory.

Brooks Laich, Troy Brouwer and defenseman Matt Niskanen also scored while Marcus Johansson and Nicklas Backstrom each added a pair of assists as the Capitals completed a perfect three-game road trip. Braden Holtby turned aside 33 shots – 15 in the third period – for his third straight win as the Capitals avenged a 4-3 loss at Tampa Bay on Nov. 1.

Captain Steven Stamkos scored his 250th career goal, Brian Boyle also tallied and defenseman Victor Hedman notched three assists while Ben Bishop made 30 saves for the Lightning. Valtteri Filppula added another goal with 3.2 seconds left, but Ovechkin’s empty-netter off the ensuing faceoff just before the final buzzer sealed the win.

Ovechkin scored from in front off Tom Wilson’s pass from behind the end line 40 seconds into the game, but Boyle deflected Hedman’s shot past Holtby at 13:49 of the period to forge a tie. Niskanen answered 34 seconds later with a one-timer from the top of the left faceoff circle during a power play.

Stamkos again knotted the game 47 seconds into the middle session with a turnaround wrist shot from the slot, but Laich knocked home his own rebound at 4:36 as the Caps reclaimed the lead. Brouwer warded off a defender and chipped a shot over Bishop with 9:08 left in the third to give Washington insurance.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Stamkos is the 10th fastest in NHL history to reach 250 goals at 24 years, 305 days old, edging Jaromir Jagr (24, 312) out of the top 10. … Washington D John Carlson played in his 323rd consecutive game, moving into second place in franchise history ahead of Kelly Miller (322) and behind only Bobby Carpenter (422). … Ovechkin matched Carlson with a team-high seven shots on goal and registered four hits.