WASHINGTON — Perseverance paid off the Alex Tuch and the Vegas Golden Knights.

Tuch scored the go-ahead goal with 5:12 remaining, and the Golden Knights defeated the Washington Capitals 4-3 Sunday in a matchup of division leaders.

Vegas rallied three times from one-goal deficits to beat Washington for the second time this season.

“We never gave up. I thought we played our best game in two weeks, I really did, even though we were behind most of the (day),” Golden Knights Coach Gerard Gallant said. “It was only a one-goal lead every time, so we kept battling and we worked hard, and that’s something our team has done all year long.”

On Tuch’s shot from in close, Capitals goalie Philipp Grubauer tied to corral the loose puck but knocked it into the net with his catching hand. Washington challenged the play for goaltender interference, but the goal stood.

“We were working hard down low and getting a lot of good opportunities,” Tuch said. “One was bound to go in and I got pretty lucky that it went off my stick and snuck between his legs there.”

It was Tuch’s first goal since Jan. 5, snapping an 11-game stretch without a goal.

Nicklas Backstrom gave Metropolitan Division-leading Washington a 3-2 lead 52 seconds into the third period. Reilly Smith tied it when he scored his second goal of the game on a wrist shot from the left circle at 9:21.

CANADIENS 4, SENATORS 1: Artturi Lehkonen broke out of a 24-game scoring slump with a pair of goals as Montreal won at home.

Lehkonen had not scored since he had two goals on Oct. 30 in an 8-3 win over the Senators in Ottawa.

SHARKS 3, HURRICANES 1: Brent Burns had a goal and an assist for San Jose in a win at Carolina.

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