WASHINGTON — Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov emerged from the locker room just in time for overtime, having passed concussion protocol after taking a high hit in the third period. He started the extra frame, and then he ended it, sprung for a breakaway and making it count with 48 seconds left to lift the Capitals to a 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche.

“My job is to play hockey, doctor’s job is to save my life, right?” Kuznetsov said.

In a game that featured some porous goaltending on both sides, Washington’s Pheonix Copley got the win with a 34-save performance, and the Capitals have their first two-game winning streak in a month and are in sole possession of second place in the Metropolitan Division.

Washington took a 3-1 lead less than a minute into the third period, when Jakub Vrana’s shot hit Colorado goaltender Semyon Varlamov in the face mask, and the rebound went to defenseman Matt Niskanen. He fired from beyond the faceoff circle, and while Varlamov got a piece of the puck with his blocker, it wasn’t enough to keep it out of the net.

But then Mikko Rantanen, one of the league’s top scorers, cut into Washington’s deficit less than five minutes later. The goal that really hurt came with 2:07 left in the third period, a bad-angle shot from Colin Wilson that Copley didn’t seem to be expecting. As he straightened in net, the puck slipped through a hole in his legs, a mistake that tied the score late to force overtime.

“I think that’s very stoppable,” Copley said. “I’ve got to make that save. … He kind of caught me when I was transitioning, so I was kind of in an awkward position but still, you’ve got to make that save.”

Thursday’s game at Capital One Arena marked Copley’s first start since he and the Capitals agreed to a three-year, $3.3 million contract extension Monday, a commitment the team made based on just 21 NHL appearances, all but two of which came in the first 53 games of this season. He hadn’t started a game in more than three weeks, and he recorded a loss in his past four outings. Copley had mostly good moments, stopping 32 shots through regulation, but he also allowed two bad goals, Wilson’s and one from star center Nathan MacKinnon in the second period.

Meanwhile, the Capitals were able to take advantage of Varlamov’s shaky rebound control. Promoted to the third line for this game, winger Andre Burakovsky scored the first goal of the game and his seventh of the season, re-directing T.J. Oshie’s feed at the front of the net. Washington appeared to extend its lead 14:51 into the game, when Alex Ovechkin’s slap shot on the power play was initially stopped by Varlamov. The puck squirted out from between Varlamov’s pads, and center Nicklas Backstrom smacked it into the net.

However, a video review determined the referee had already blown the play dead before the puck crossed the goal line, so the call on the ice of a goal was reversed. It was a significant break for the Avalanche, which has the league’s worst save percentage over the past 25 games. After Philipp Grubauer had a career-best year with the Capitals last season – he played in 35 games and compiled a .923 save percentage and 2.35 goals against average – he requested a trade to somewhere he could have the opportunity to ascend to the top role, something that wouldn’t be possible with Braden Holtby in Washington.

The Capitals obliged, dealing him to Colorado, where he has shared the net with Varlamov, also a former Washington netminder. Grubauer didn’t play Thursday, but for his first trip to Washington in another jersey, the team showed a tribute video for him, which he acknowledged with waves from the bench.

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