Photo: Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images
The Washington Capitals beat the Ottawa Senators 3-2 Tuesday night at Capital One Arena. Evgeny Kuznetsov would get the scoring started in the first period and Tom Wilson would strike quickly in the second period to extend the Caps lead to 2-0 early in the middle frame. Mike Hoffman would get the Senators on the scoreboard early in the second period, but Evgeny Kuznetsov would score with 12 seconds remaining in the middle frame to give the Capitals a 3-1 lead at the second intermission. Erik Karlsson would close the gap to one early in the final frame but that would be it, as the Caps held on for the 3-2 win. The Capitals next hit the ice outdoors for the Stadium Series Game on Saturday when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs in Annapolis. Puck drop is 8:00 p.m.
STARTERS
Philipp Grubauer (7-7-3, 2.45 GAA, .921 sv%) got the start in goal for the Capitals. Mike Condon (4-10-5, 3.31 GAA, .901 sv%) started in goal for the Senators. The Capitals starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the game:
Ovechkin-Backstrom-Wilson
Vrana-Kuznetsov-Oshie
Connolly-Eller-Burakovsky
Stephenson-Beagle-Smith/Pelly
Orlov-Niskanen
Kempny-Carlson
Orpik-Jerabek
Scratches: Christian Djoos, Madison Bowey, Travis Boyd and Alex Chiasson were the healthy scratches.
FIRST PERIOD
Tom Wilson wasted little time getting into the spirit of this one, dropping the gloves with Mark Borowiecki 2:57 into the contest.
The Capitals would be the first to light the lamp with a goal from Evgeny Kuznetsov at 15:16 of the opening frame. The goal came at the conclusion of a Senators power play. This was Kuznetsov’s 18th goal of the season.
The period would end with the Caps leading 1-0. Ottawa led in shots on goal 12-10 for the first 20 minutes. Ottawa won the faceoff battle 56-44%. Both teams were 0 for 1 on the power play.
SECOND PERIOD
The Capitals wold quickly stretch their lead to 2-0 with a goal from Tom Wilson just 43 seconds into the middle stanza. This was Wilson’s 11th goal of the season. Nicklas Backstrom was credited with the primary assist.
The Capitals would work their way into a 5-on-3 penalty kill early in the second period and it would cost the Caps. Mike Hoffman would cut the Caps lead to one with a roofer at 6:25 of the middle period.
The Capitals would restore the two goal advantage with a late goal from Evgeny Kuznetsov at 19:48 of the middle frame, the second of the game for Kuznetsov.
The period would end with the Capitals leading 3-1. Ottawa outshot Washington 8-5 for the second period, and led 20-15 after two periods of play.
THIRD PERIOD
The Senators would again close the gap to one goal early in the final period with a filthy dagger from Erik Karlsson at 3:14 of the final frame. This was Karlsson’s 500th career NHL point.
The Capitals would close the door and hang on for the 3-2 win.
SHAVINGS
- With an assist on the game, Nicklas Backstrom has tied Steve Larmer for 99th place on the NHL’s all-time assist mark (571). In his 797th game, Backstrom passed Shane Doan (570a, 1,540 games played) and Frank Mahovlich (570a, 1,181 games played).
- Tom Wilson scored the Capitals’ second goal of the game. That’s his 11th goal of the season, raising his single-season goal total and point total (28).
- The NHL box score is here.
By Jon Sorensen
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