Capitals Impeach Senators, 5-3; Alex Ovechkin And Carl Hagelin Extend Respective Point-Streaks

Posted on January 31, 2020 by Harrison Brown
@CapitalsPhoto: @Capitals

The Washington Capitals defeated the Ottawa Senators by a score of 5-3 to earn their fifth win in six games (5-1-0) at Canadian Tire Centre on Friday night. The win lifted the Capitals six points ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins for first place in the Metropolitan Division, though the Penguins have a game in hand on them. Goaltender Ilya Samsonov made 25 saves in the win.

Capitals’ Lines at Senators

Besides the crease, the Capitals made no line changes from their 5-4 loss to the Nashville Predators on Wednesday.

First Period

Forward T.J. Oshie opened the scoring 4:10 into the contest with a tip-in of a slap-pass from defenseman John Carlson for his 19th goal of the season. Forward Jakub Vrana picked up the secondary assist.

The second-line converted again into a wide-open net when center Evgeny Kuznetsov got his 17th goal of the year at the 11:24 mark with a tip-in off a feed from Carlson at the doorstep.

The Capitals led 16-5 in shots, 13-10 in hits, 7-3 in blocked shots, had three giveaways while the Senators had five, and didn’t convert on one power-play in the first.

The Senators led 2-0 in takeaways, won 53% of the faceoffs, and didn’t get a power-play in the first.

Second Period

Captain Alex Ovechkin ripped one past goaltender Craig Anderson’s ear from the right dot after getting a feed from center Nicklas Backstrom to make it 3-1 with his 694th career goal and 36th of the season. It marked his 10th goal in his last five games, the first time he has done so in his career. With the goal, Ovechkin became the sixth player in NHL history to score at least 30 goals against 12 different franchises.

Defenseman Thomas Chabot roared into the offensive zone and beat Samsonov past the glove from far out to cut the Capitals’ lead to one at 11:31.

The Capitals led 26-22 in shots, 11-8 in blocked shots, had seven giveaways while the Senators had nine, and went 0-for-3 on the power-play in the first two periods.

The Senators led 17-10 in second-period shots, 6-0 in takeaways, and didn’t convert on their lone power-play through 40 minutes.

Each team was credited with 20 hits and won 50% of the draws in the first two periods.

Third Period

Forward Carl Hagelin ripped one to the top right corner after getting a feed from center Lars Eller all alone to double the Capitals’ lead at 3:07 shorthanded. He now has three goals and five points during a five-game point streak.

Center Artem Anisimov spun and beat a screened Samsonov to the top corner on the power-play from the left dot to make it 4-3 4:47 into the third.

Ovechkin added salt to the wound with an empty-netter from up close with his second of the night and career goal No. 695, moving him into sole possession of eighth place all-time in NHL history to make it with 14 seconds left. His 37 goals this season are now tied with Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak for the league-lead and Ovechkin became the second player 34 or older in NHL history to score 11 goals in five games (Joe Mullen – Penguins in 1991). With an assist, Carlson set a franchise record in assists by defensemen (362).

The Capitals led 37-28 in shots, including 11-6 in the third, 22-10 in blocked shots, 30-24 in hits, and went 1-for-5 on the power-play.

The Senators led 6-2 in takeaways, had 10 giveaways while the Capitals had 12, won 52% of the draws, and scored on one of their three power-plays.

Samsonov became the fourth goalie in NHL history to win at least 16 of his first 20 career starts. He has won his last 11 starts, becoming the third goalie in NHL history to do so.

The Capitals come home to begin a season-long four-game homestand against the Penguins on Sunday afternoon. Action from Capital One Arena can be seen on NBC beginning at 12:30 PM ET.

By Harrison Brown

About Harrison Brown

Harrison is a diehard Caps fan and a hockey fanatic with a passion for sports writing. He attended his first game at age 8 and has been a season ticket holder since the 2010-2011 season. His fondest Caps memory was watching the Capitals hoist the Stanley Cup in Las Vegas. In his spare time, he enjoys travel, photography, and hanging out with his two dogs. Follow Harrison on Twitter @HarrisonB927077
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3 Responses to Capitals Impeach Senators, 5-3; Alex Ovechkin And Carl Hagelin Extend Respective Point-Streaks

  1. Diane Doyle says:
    January 31, 2020 at 10:17 pm

    Clever title — “Capitals Impeach Senators”

    Special teams not very special for the Caps. But Ovi’s 2nd goal counted as a PP goal for the Caps. Guess their odds of scoring were better when it was basically 5 on 5 with an empty net than the standard 5 on 4 with a goalie.

    Great milestone goals for Ovi. #8 in All time goals for #8.

    Reply
    • Jon Sorensen says:
      January 31, 2020 at 11:52 pm

      I think all of these shorties yielded are an expected by-product of the New over-aggressive style of attack. It’s gonna happen, the question is, is the trade off worth it.

      Reply
  2. Day One Caps Fan says:
    January 31, 2020 at 10:28 pm

    The Washington Capitals host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, 2 February 2020 at 1230 hrs at Capital One Arena in Washington DC. It’s the biggest game of the year by far for the Caps.

    I will be SO P***ED when $500/hr Future Hall of Famer Washington Capitals Head Coach Todd Reirden puts Braden Hole-by’s Flying Circus in goal. Sammy = Win, but that’s just not good enough to convince Reirden do the right thing

    Reply

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