Game report: Capitals 2, Ducks 1 (shootout)

Key play: Nicklas Backstrom scored in the third round of a shootout to give the Washington Capitals a 2-1 victory Monday over the Ducks at the Honda Center, ending their 11-game winning streak. The Ducks’ point streak was extended to 14 games in a row, however.

Pivotal performer: Ducks goaltender John Gibson was sharp from the start, and he had to be as the Capitals swarmed his net for extended stretches. He gave up only Andre Burakovsky’s tying goal in the opening minutes of the third period during regulation and overtime. He made 31 saves.

Quote, unquote: “We played against, in my opinion and a lot of people’s opinion, the best team in the East and we matched up well against them and it was a good game,” Ducks defenseman Kevin Bieksa said. “You’re not going to win every game, but we played well tonight. We play that game over again and who knows? Maybe we get a different result.”

Milestone delayed: Bruce Boudreau went into the game with 199 victories in 334 contests as the Ducks’ coach. Overall, he was 199-98-37 in four-plus seasons with the Ducks. Randy Carlyle holds the franchise record with 230 victories between 2005-06 and 2011-12.

Between the pipes: Gibson returned to the net after Frederik Andersen started the past two games for the Ducks as Boudreau stuck to his recent two-on, two-off rotation. Gibson lowered his goals-against average to 2.05, best in the NHL. Branden Holtby made his 54th appearance for the Capitals and stopped 27 shots to improve his league-leading record to 41-8-3.