Ryan Leonard’s goal with 1:02 remaining gave Washington one last opening, and Jordan Kyrou was involved again. Leonard scored from the left circle with the Capitals’ extra attacker on the ice, while Kyrou and Jakob Chychrun assisted. Dallas escaped with a 6-5 victory Tuesday at Capital One Arena, but Kyrou’s three-point night made the Stars’ large leads look remarkably temporary.
Kyrou’s contribution began with Washington’s first goal, returned on the score that cut the intermission deficit to two, and ended with Leonard’s late finish. That sequence is more revealing than the final margin by itself. Dallas had enough offense to reach 4-0, 5-1 and 6-3, yet Washington kept finding a way to make the next goal matter.
The final goal came after Justin Sourdif had already pulled Washington within two at 12:55 of the third period. Anthony Beauvillier’s shot came off Sourdif and then Jake Oettinger before rolling in, with Beauvillier and Ilya Protas credited with assists.
It was an even-strength goal, and it meant Washington entered the closing stretch with a live path back into the game rather than merely a distant hope.
Leonard’s goal was a different kind of opportunity. Washington used the extra attacker, not a third-period power play; neither team was penalized in the final period. Kyrou picked up his second assist as Washington made use of the extra skater. Dallas held on afterward, but the margin had become fragile enough that the last minute required actual defending instead of routine clock management.
Kyrou had started Washington’s climb at 11:00 of the second. Cole Hutson’s shot created a rebound, and Kyrou converted on the power play to make it 4-1. Hutson and Dylan Strome received the assists.
Dallas had carried a 1-0 lead out of the first period, then built a four-goal advantage before Washington finally put something on the board. Kyrou’s finish did not erase the gap, but it gave the Capitals a concrete response to the Stars’ scoring burst.
The response did not end there. Dallas reached 5-1, creating another cushion, before Washington went back to the power play late in the period. At 19:30, Chychrun scored on a one-timer off Strome’s pass, with Kyrou taking the secondary assist.
The goal made it 5-3 before intermission. Two Kyrou points had now arrived on Washington power plays, and both helped convert a deficit into a game that still demanded attention.
Special teams supplied Washington with a reliable route back. The Capitals went 2-for-3 on the power play, while Dallas went 1-for-2. Those percentages do not explain every defensive failure, but the timing does: Washington scored its first goal after Dallas reached 4-0 and scored again just before the break after the Stars had rebuilt a four-goal margin. The lead kept returning; so did the pressure.
Dallas deserves credit for continuing to score. Six goals on 22 shots gave the Stars the finishing edge, and they answered Washington’s earlier pushes rather than allowing the game to become a one-way chase. Washington scored five on 25 shots, a smaller conversion rate that still produced an uncomfortable final period.
