WASHINGTON -- A sleepy start saw the Capitals trail the Ottawa Senators 1-0 after the first, but Washington responded with six straight goals for the emphatic 6-1 victory on Tuesday. T.J. Oshie and Alex Ovechkin both scored twice to lead the Caps past the overmatched Senators. Ilya Samsonov did the rest with 26 saves.
Here is how Washington won.
A lucky bounce
Trailing 1-0 early into the second period, Dmitry Orlov entered the offensive zone and called his own number, firing a shot that Craig Anderson stopped easily. The key to this play was Evgeny Kuznetsov pushing towards the net after the shot. With the rebound in front of Anderson, defenseman Mark Borowiecki tried to sweep the puck up and out, but Kuznetsov blocked the clear and the puck bounced up into the air and landed right in the slot for the trailing T.J. Oshie.
Oshie had to turn his body to get the shot off to avoid overskating, but the shot hit off the glove of Anderson and into the net.
A great shot by Gudas
Sometimes you don't have to have the perfect play to beat an NHL goalie, you just need the perfect shot. You would expect that to come from Alex Ovechkin or Jakub Vrana, but it was Radko Gudas who fired an incredible slap shot past a stunned Anderson.
In the offensive zone, Michal Kempny threw the puck back to the blue line to Kuznetsov. As he rotated, Gudas rotated towards the half-wall at the top of the faceoff circle. Kuznetsov fed him and Gudas unleashed a one-timer that went short-side off the crossbar and in.
NHL
Ovechkin would not be denied
You don't take a goal away from Ovechkin. The Senators learned that the hard way.
Ovechkin thought he had his 25th goal of the season late in the second period as he shot a puck that trickled through Anderson and to the goal line. Defenseman Dylan Demelo got a stick to the puck just before it completely crossed the line.
Notice the time.
Since the start of December, Ovechkin has scored only four goals. To have that close taken away must have stung and he let Ottawa know it. Just 18 seconds later, Ovechkin took a pass in the neutral zone, went down the right side and fired an incredible wrister beating Anderson glove side. Ovechkin gave an emphatic goal point imitating the referee in celebration.
Three knockout punches
Ovechkin's goal was the Caps' third straight. They had complete control entering into the third period and went for the throat early in the final frame.
Nicklas Backstrom carried the puck into the offensive zone out wide, stickhandled his way behind the defense, then delivered a pass to Oshie who had an empty net to shoot on with everyone caught puck-watching.
That goal came 41 seconds into the period. Less than 90 seconds later, Lars Eller re-directed a centering pass from Jonas Siegenthaler into the net. It was Washington's fifth straight goal.
With less than four minutes remaining in the game, Ovechkin struck for the second time for his 26th goal of the season, this time beating Marcus Hogberg who replaced Anderson after Eller's goal.
Discipline
The Caps had given up four power play goals in the last two games but gave Ottawa only one power play opportunity to work with on Tuesday. Sure, the Senators have the worst power play in the league, but the best way to keep a team from scoring on the power play is to not take penalties. That is something Washington has struggled with this season. Taking only one minor penalty was certainly a step in the right direction.
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