ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The NHL's best team needed a shootout to dispatch the league's hottest squad Monday night.

T.J. Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom scored during the shootout to give the Washington Capitals a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks in front of a sellout crowd of 17,174 at the Honda Center.

"It was one of the closer ones we've had this year," Oshie said. "That was a good battle. It felt a lot like playoff hockey -- not quite playoff hockey, but it was right there."

If it were a playoff game, "it'd probably be eight or nine overtimes," Ducks defenseman Kevin Bieksa said.

Washington goalie Braden Holtby grabbed two shots during the shootout and finished with 27 saves while improving to 41-8-3 on the season. Holtby reached 40 victories faster than any other goalie in NHL history, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

"He's always sharp," said left winger Andre Burakovsky, who scored in regulation for the Capitals (49-13-4). "He's always standing on his head. He's saved us so many times. It was just another day for him."

Corey Perry scored Anaheim's only goal during the shootout, Ryan Getzlaf scored in regulation, and John Gibson stopped 31 shots. However, the Ducks (37-29-9) saw their team-record, 12-game winning streak end.

"A streak is a streak, but it's not do or die," Bieksa said. "It's about playing well and keeping good habits. If we had lost that game 2-0 and played awful, we'd be upset."

During the shootout, Holtby caught shots from the Ducks' first two shooters, David Perron and Jakob Silfverberg. Oshie put the Capitals ahead before Perry tied the score. Backstrom then sent a wrist shot between Gibson's legs to give Washington its fourth win in five games.

"It's stressful winning every game because you try so hard to keep that thing going," Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We're not playing as well as we can. Our execution wasn't what it should've been. But there were two good teams playing chess out there."

Getzlaf's 10th goal of the season gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead exactly one minute into the game. With Anaheim using an extra attacker following a delayed penalty to the Capitals' Alex Ovechkin, Getzlaf fired a rising slap shot from the left point.

Burakovsky tied the score 41 seconds into the third period. After receiving Justin Williams' drop pass, Evgeny Kuznetsov sent the puck to Burakovsky from the left circle. Burakovsky then one-timed a shot from the slot inside the right post for his 14th goal. Kuznetsov earned his 47th assist

"You could tell it was a battle all night long," Holtby said. "They were a good test for us. We were pretty excited just to ramp up the intensity in this one. It's trending upward, and that's good. That's what we need at this point of the season."

Mike Richards had a chance to give the Capitals the victory with about 1 minute, 20 seconds left in regulation after he stole a pass from Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler. However, Gibson blocked Richards' backhanded shot.

NOTES: Washington scratched D Taylor Chorney, RW Stanislav Galiev and C Michael Latta. ... The Capitals became the first team in NHL history to play 10 successive one-goal games without going into a shootout, according to Elias Sports, after their 2-1 overtime victory Saturday night against the Boston Bruins. ... Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom needs one goal to pass Kelly Miller and move into 12th place in career goal scoring for the club. ... Washington LW Daniel Winnik played two seasons in Anaheim from 2012-14. ... Anaheim scratched D Korbinian Holzer and D Clayton Stoner. ... Ducks G Frederik Andersen only needs to appear in overtime to match Jonas Hiller's club record of 16 successive decisions with at least one point earned. ... Bruce Boudreau reached 400 career victories faster than any other coach in NHL history when the Ducks beat the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, 3-2.