Capitals 3, Blackhawks 2: Troy Brouwer scored on the power play with 13 seconds remaining in the third period as host Washington rebounded after squandering an early two-goal lead to upend Chicago in the NHL Winter Classic at Nationals Park.

With Jonathan Toews serving a hooking penalty, fellow captain Alex Ovechkin broke his stick while attempting to play the puck in the left faceoff circle. Brouwer, who played with the Blackhawks in parts of five seasons, gained possession and quickly wired a shot that caromed off the glove of Corey Crawford and into the net to lift the Capitals into third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Washington's Eric Fehr recorded his third goal in the Winter Classic to become the league's all-time leading scorer in the event. Ovechkin tallied for the fourth time in six contests and added an assist and Braden Holtby finished with 33 saves while making his career-high 14th consecutive start for the Capitals, who improved to 9-1-3 in the last 13 games.

Patrick Sharp scored his sixth power-play goal among his team-leading 10 shots and Brandon Saad also tallied for the Blackhawks, who fell for just the fifth time in 20 games (15-4-1). Toews notched an assist for his league-record fifth point in the Winter Classic and Crawford turned aside 32 shots.

After tallying twice in the 2011 outdoor game at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field, Fehr opened the scoring by beating Crawford inside the right post on a breakaway 7:01 into the first period. Ovechkin doubled the advantage just under five minutes later by swatting home a rebound following a point shot from blue-liner Mike Green (two assists), but Sharp's wrister sailed from the sunlight into the shade and past Holtby at 13:36 before Saad capped a crisp tic-tac-toe passing sequence to forge a 2-2 tie at 3:15 of the second.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Sharp's power-play goal gave him four points in outdoor games, moving him into a three-way tie with Toews and Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg prior to the Chicago captain's assist on Saad's tally. ... The league mandated that the teams switch ends midway through the first period, neutralizing any perceived advantage gained from the elements - particularly the glare from the sun. ... Billy Idol performed prior to the game, fellow musician Gavin DeGraw worked the first intermission and country singer Lee Greenwood did the same in the second.