The Washington Capitals took to the road on Friday night
with a date against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre. The Caps were trying to rinse away the bitter
after taste of a 5-4 loss to the Nashville Predators on Wednesday night while
the Senators were looking to measure themselves and the state of their rebuild
against the top team in the league standings.
First Period
The Caps opened the scoring on a heads-up play, quite literally,
from John Carlson. Collecting the puck
high in the offensive zone, He spied Evgeny Kuznetsov working his way across
the middle and T.J. Oshie setting a screen in front. Carlson directed a slap pass in their
direction. It was Oshie credited with a
deflection past goalie Marcus Hogberg’s right pad at the 4:10 mark to open the
scoring.
Washington got the first power play of the evening when Thomas
Chabot was sent off for slashing at 7:26 of the period. The Caps did not convert, but they did add to
their lead in the 12th minute of the period when Jakub Vrana sent a
puck through the top of the crease to Kuznetsov lurking at the post to Hogbergs’
left. Kuznetsov stuffed the puck past
Hogberg’s left pad before the goalie could get across, and although there was
some mystery to whether or not the puck went it, it was lodged under the skirt
at the bottom of the net, and the Caps had a 2-0 lead 11:22 into the period.
Ottawa had a chance to cut into the lead with just over
seven minutes left in the period when Vladislav Namestnikov was spring loose
and alone on goalie Ily Samsonov, but Samsonov knocked the shot down with his
glove and smothered it to prevent a rebound chance. There would be no more scoring in the period,
and the Caps went off to the locker room with a 2-0 lead.
-- The Caps had a 16-5 edge in shots for the period and a
25-13 advantage in shot attempts.
-- Alex Ovechkin led the Caps with five shots on goal and
nine shot attempts.
-- Deuces were wild for Jakub Vrana in the first period –
two assists and a plus-2 in 5:02 of ice time.
Second Period
The Caps got the first power play of the period once more
when Dylan Demelo was sent off for holding at the 2:18 mark. The Caps did not convert the man advantage,
and the teams resumed playing at 5-on-5.
The Caps did get a chance to add to their lead shortly after
the power play ended, Nick Jensen finding Carl Hagelin for a breakaway. Hagelin tried to get Hoberg sliding to open
the five-hole, but Hagelin shot the puck into Hogberg’s right pad, and the
chance was foiled.
Washington was awarded their second power play of the period
when Scott Sabourin was sent to the box for tripping at the 5:38 mark. It would be Ottawa converting though, Chris
Tierney converting a goal-mouth pass from Demelo for a tip-in shorthanded goal to
make it 2-1, Caps, 7:15 into the period.
The Caps restored their two-goal lead when they flooded the
offensive zone on a 3-on-1 break, led by Nicklas Backstrom. As the gained the zone, Backstrom fed Alex
Ovechkin on his right. Being patient
with the puck, Ovechkin called his own number as Demelo was coming across in an
effort to defend. His snap shot beat
Hogberg cleanly to the far side, and it was 3-1, 10:26 into the period.
Ottawa would not go away, though. Thomas Chabot pulled the Senators back within
a goal when carrying the puck down the middle into the offensive zone, he used
defenseman Nick Jensen as a screen and ripped a shot past Samsonov’s right pad
at the 11:31 mark to make it a 3-2 game.
Ottawa got a late chance to tie the game when Dmitry Orlov
was hit with a hooking penalty at the 16:44 mark of the period. Washington killed off the penalty, and the
score remained 3-2, which is how the period ended.
-- Ottawa had a 17-10 advantage in shots on goal for the
period and a 25-16 edge in total shot attempts.
-- Evgeny Kuznetsov was on ice for both Ottawa goals in the
period. He had one shift after the
second one, 30 seconds worth in a span of 8:29 after the second Senators goal.
-- The teams split 40 hits down the middle and split 40
faceoff wins down the middle, 20 apiece in each category.
Third Period
Less than two minutes into the period, the Caps were hit
with a bench minor for too many men on the ice to put the Senators on an early
power play 1:51 into the period. It
would be the Caps returning the shorthanded favor when Lars Eller broke out
down the ice, drawing defenders to him.
He managed to one hand a pass into the middle where Carl Hagelin was
filling in. Hagelin went in all alone on
Hogberg and snapped a shot from between the hash marks over Hogberg’s left
shoulder to make it 4-2 at the 3:07 mark.
Shortly thereafter, the Caps went short again, Jonas
Siegenthaler going off on a hooking call 4:19 into the period. The Senators converted this one, Artem
Anisimov spinning on a loose puck to shoot and beat Samsonov on the blocker
side 4:47 into the period.
The Caps got a late power play when Colin White high-sticked
Lars Eller in the face and drew blood, resulting in a double minor penalty with
3:42 left in the contest. The Caps did
not convert until the Senators emptied their net, and it was Ovechkin getting
his second of the game to ice the matter at the 19:45 mark, the Caps going off
5-3 winners.
Other stuff…
-- John Carlson’s assist on the T.J. Oshie goal in the first
period tied him with Calle Johansson (361) for most by a Caps defenseman in
franchise history.
-- The Caps allowed their ninth shorthanded goal of the
season, tying Detroit for most in the league.
It was the fifth shorthanded goal allowed by the Caps in their last
eight games.
-- Alex Ovechkin’s second period goal was his 694th
career goal, tying him with Mark Messier for eighth place, all-time. His empty netter late pushed him ahead of
Messier for eighth place.
-- Ovechkin’s second period goal was his 30th
career goal against Ottawa, bringing the number of teams he has scored 30 or
more goals against to 12 over his career.
-- The win was the Caps’ 20th on the road this
season, the 15th time in franchise history they recorded at least 20
wins on the road.
-- Ovechkin recorded 11 shots on goal for the game, the
second time he had ten or more shots in a game this season, the second time on the road, and the second
time in Canada. He had ten shots on goal
in a 4-3 win over the Maple Leafs in Toronto on October 29th.
-- The Caps out-shot Ottawa, 37-28. Each team finished with 59 total shot
attempts.
-- Michal Kempny finished with a plus-3 rating, the third
time he did it this season and the first time since he was plus-3 in a 5-2 win
in Detroit over the Red Wings on November 30th.
-- Ilya Samsonov lifted his road record to 10-0-0, 2.20,
.919.
-- The Caps allowed a shorthanded goal, their ninth shorthanded
goal allowed this season, tied with Detroit for most in the league. They have allowed five shorthanded goals in
their last eight games.
In the end…
It was by no means pretty.
The Caps are a vastly better team than Ottawa, but they let the Senators
stick around by playing without intensity on special teams, allowing both a
shorthanded and a power play goal to the home team. But that talent won out in the end, and now
the Caps move up several weight classes when they host Pittsburgh in the first
meeting of the teams this season. The
Caps will have to be more disciplined and play with more intensity if they are
to be successful once more.