The Ottawa Senators visited the Washington Capitals on Saturday evening — a battle of the capital cities. The story of the game was that of Alexander Ovechkin, the Capitals’ captain, who was set to play his 1,500th career game and score his 900th goal. This was the second game of a back-to-back for the Capitals, and they were coming off a dominant 5-1 victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Senators were hoping to start a win streak after a narrow 2-1 defeat of the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. A victory would mean their first set of back-to-back wins this season. Lars Eller, a former Capital of eight seasons, would be back in a familiar arena for the first time this season.
First Period
The game was off to a quick offensive start when Dylan Cozens snuck one past Charlie Lindgren, scoring on the first shot of the game. He was unassisted. The first power play of the game belonged to the Capitals after a holding penalty on Nikolas Matinpalo; however, they did not score with the man advantage. The Senators had their first power play after a tripping penalty on Tom Wilson, but they were also unsuccessful.
After a brief scrum between a handful of players, Kurtis MacDermid and Pierre-Luc Dubois were both assessed two-minute minors for roughing, and the game became 4-on-4 hockey. After a relatively quiet first period, the Senators took a 1-0 lead into the locker room. There were just 11 shots on goal in the opening frame, eight from Ottawa and three from Washington. Both teams would need to pick up their pace and improve their offensive ability if they wanted to secure a win.
Second Period
The Senators did, in fact, improve their offensive abilities in the middle period. Early on, after a few minutes of review, it was determined that Shane Pinto got the puck past the goal line before running into Lindgren and knocking the goal out of position. The Senators were up 2-0, but Capitals coach Spencer Carbery decided to challenge for goaltender interference. Carbery’s challenge was unsuccessful, as the referees determined that Jakob Cychrun ran into Pinto, causing Pinto to fall into Lindgren. Ottawa went on another power play after the bench minor was assessed for the failed coach’s challenge. Ovechkin served the penalty.
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The Senators took a dominant 3-0 lead on the power play when Cozens scored another goal, assisted by Drake Batherson and Tim Stutzle. Within minutes of the Cozens goal, the lead increased to 4-0 when Nick Cousins scored off his backhand unassisted. The Capitals had yet to register an additional shot on goal in the second period. It was determined that Dylan Strome, who was injured in the first period, would not return to the lineup for the Capitals. Brandon Duhaime served a two-minute minor for slashing Cousins, who was assessed a minor for embellishment. The teams played 4-on-4 hockey once again for just over a minute before Pinto was given a hooking penalty. The Capitals then played 4-on-3 for 50 seconds before continuing with a regular power play, but were unable to convert with a man up.
With 32 seconds remaining in the period, a multiple-player fight broke out behind Lindgren’s net, with the goalie himself even joining in on the action. Linus Ullmark crossed the ice to join the fight, as well. After some deliberation, it was determined that Martin Fehervary received a double minor for roughing, while Ridley Greig served two minutes. Each goalie was assessed a minor penalty, as well, served by Ovechkin and Cousins. The period ended with the Senators on a power play and having 10 shots on goal to the Capitals’ three. Washington would be desperately looking for any sort of offense in the third period if they had any chance of overcoming a four-goal deficit, while the Senators would be able to cruise through the third relying on defense to hold their dominant lead.
Third Period
The Senators were on a power play for 1:24 to start the third period, where Batherson scored his first goal of the season, assisted by Cozens and Claude Giroux. Ottawa’s lead was now 5-0. The Capitals finally got one when Trevor van Riemsdyk backhanded the puck past Ullmark, keeping his team from facing a shutout. Ryan Leonard and Nic Dowd assisted on his first goal of the season. The Senators had another power play after Justin Sourdif slashed the stick of Fabian Zetterlund out of his hand. Thomas Chabot scored from the point, assisted by Giroux and David Perron, and the visitors were up 6-1. Batherson scored again, giving him his 300th career point and Ottawa their seventh goal. The game concluded with the Senators having 32 shots on goal and the Capitals just 13. The Senators also had the advantage in the faceoffs, winning 62.1% of their chances.
The Senators left Capital One Arena with a dominant win and will be looking to continue their momentum when they face the Boston Bruins at home on Monday. The Capitals will hit the road and look for a much better hockey game against the Dallas Stars in Tuesday’s Frozen Frenzy.
