In a hard-hitting, penalty-filled matinee game, the Ottawa Senators were able to come away from their matchup with the Washington Capitals with a 4-3 victory.
Game Recap
The Senators and Capitals wasted no time getting physical as Brady Tkachuk and Tom Wilson were in a shoving match when lining up on the same wing ahead of the first puck drop. The temperatures would only continue to rise from here.
Wilson, recently named to Team Canada for the 2026 Olympics, stayed busy, scoring the first goal of the game at the mid-way point of the first period after Leevi Merilainen and the Senators were unable to get control of the puck in front.
Just a minute later, a scrum broke out, which led to a Capitals power play, but each team had players in the box.
Justin Sourdiff then took a big run at Thomas Chabot, making contact with the head and leaving a scrape on his cheek. Many Senators fans in the building were upset with the hit, but there was no call from the officials.
Sourdiff was then challenged by Drake Batherson, and they had a spirited fight as a response to the hit, which ended up costing Chabot some extra time away from the game, though he did return roughly five minutes into the second period.
After an untimely penalty from Nick Jensen, the Capitals were headed back to the power play and were able to capitalize with just a minute left in the period, as Dylan Strome recorded his ninth goal of the season.
The Capitals dominated the period and were heading into the first intermission feeling pretty good.
The penalties continued to go back-and-forth early in the second period, but it was the Senators who were able to get on the board, with Jensen scoring his second of the season to cut the lead in half.
Similar to the Capitals’ first goal, chaos in front of the net led to Ridly Greig scoring his fifth goal of the season, getting the game tied up in the final minute of the second period.
The Senators had some strong pressure throughout the period, but Logan Thompson’s talents were on full display. He made some exceptional saves, and despite the two goals against in the period, he is what kept the game close.
In the third period, the Senators’ pressure was maintained, and they dominated possession. David Perron was able to get one past Thompson to give the Senators their first lead of the game. Very shortly after, the Senators got another goal, but it was deemed that Thompson had control of the puck, and it was waived off.
The Capitals started taking momentum after the no-goal call, and late in the period, Aleksei Protas tied the game up on just their second shot of the period, nearly 16 minutes into the final frame.
Just two minutes later, Thomas Chabot gathered the puck and danced into the zone, and had an excellent pass to Fabian Zetterlund, who rifled home his 10th goal of the season. This goal would stand to be the game-winner.
The Capitals had numerous chances in the dying minutes with the empty net, but were unable to get another, and fell to the Senators 4-3.
The Capitals are back in action on Jan. 3 as they kick off a three-game home stand against the Chicago Blackhawks, while the Senators host the Winnipeg Jets that same day.
