Senators Defeat Capitals 5-4 in Overtime

With the win, the Senators remain in the third spot in the Atlantic Divison, maintaining their playoff position, meanwhile, the Capitals retain their spot atop the Metropolitan Division and are now second in the league in points as the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Boston Bruins in regulation to take first place for their own.

Game Recap

The opening period had a lot of back-and-forth play, and both teams had generated numerous shots and chances, but were unable to find the back of the net. The Capitals received the only two penalties of the first period, with two “Too Many Men” penalties within two minutes of each other. The Senators’ power play was unable to capitalize and get pucks toward the net.

The second period was a lot more active. Just four minutes into the period, the Senators took advantage of their third power play chance, with Ridly Greig scoring his eighth goal of the season while Taylor Raddysh was serving a high-sticking penalty.

Shortly after, Connor McMichael was given a ton of space to the left of Anton Forsberg, and with patience, had Forsberg down in the butterfly early, and buried the puck over the shoulder to tie the game. Just moments after the conclusion of a Greig penalty, the Senators’ defenders lost all coverage, and Pierre-Luc Dubois lured the Senators high in the zone and found McMichael down low.

Late in the second period, Josh Norris earned a shorthanded breakaway but was tripped up by John Carlson and was awarded a penalty shot. Norris carried the puck slowly and shot it under Charlie Lindgren’s blocker for a 2-1 lead. Just 38 seconds later, Shane Pinto scored another shorthanded goal for the Senators to give them a two-goal lead.

The third period got a lot more physical, with both Tom Wilson and Martin Fehervary laying a number of hits. The Capitals got the game within one on a goal from Dylan Strome, who scored his 14th goal of the season. This was another power play goal as the Senators were down a man with Norris in the box for tripping.

Taylor Raddysh would get another penalty for hooking, and Jake Sanderson extended the Senators’ lead to 4-2. The Senators would get another shorthanded penalty shot shortly after, but Lindgren shut the door on Pinto.

With just under seven minutes to go, Alex Ovechkin took a shot through traffic and beat Forsberg cleanly. Ovechkin scored the overtime winner against the Senators in their meeting earlier in the season and has now buried his 23rd goal of the season, and is just 19 goals away from the NHL record.

Just 90 seconds later, Ovechkin put another shot on the net, and Forsberg allowed a big rebound, and Strome picked up the rebound and put it over a sprawling Forsberg. The Senators called their timeout after this goal to try and settle down and get the lead back. The Capitals had the majority of the pressure for the last few minutes of the game, but while on their heels, the Senators were able to hold off and get to the overtime period.

After a defensive-zone draw, the Senators gathered possession and Norris carried the puck up the ice, and after a scramble in the corner with three Capitals players, Thomas Chabot was given the puck in the between the circles and beats Lindgren on the glove side for the win.

Forsberg earned the win and made 31 saves on 35 shots for a .886 save percentage (SV%), and Lindgren stopped 30 of 35 for an .857 SV%.

The Senators are back in action on Feb. 1 as they host the Minnesota Wild, and the Capitals will head back to D.C. to take on the Winnipeg Jets.