Caps Overcome Ottawa in Overtime, 3-2

Nicklas Backstrom has had to be patient this season. The splendid Caps center spent the first third of the campaign rehabbing a hip ailment, a process that cost him to miss the first 28 games of the season. After playing in just one game, he landed in COVID-19 protocol and had to miss two more games before returning. And after playing his second and third games of the season, Backstrom came down with a non-COVID illness that sidelined him for the next three contests.

Backstrom's patience put the Caps in the win column on Saturday night. Early in overtime, he executed a swipe and snipe right in front of Senators goalie Matt Murray. But rather than shooting as soon as the puck landed on his stick, Backstrom waited and waited for Murray's coverage of the cage to diminish before launching a sharp backhander to the shelf, a shot that gave the Caps a 3-2 overtime victory over Ottawa.

"I felt like the puck was bouncing a little bit," recounts Backstrom. "I was just trying to make it flat, and then I got too close to shoot, I thought. You've got to trust a good, old backhand sometimes."
That, and patience. The Caps patiently worked their way back from a 2-0 deficit to claim these two points, the second time in as many home games they've dug their way back from two goals down to win in overtime.
"I thought we just stayed with the game the entire game, regardless of the score," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "And [the Sens] played well. We thought if we could get one, then one might lead to two, and we'd figure out how to get a third.
"Defensively, I thought we were good all night. Offensively, I thought we got better as the game went on. But they were ready to play in the first, and so it was tight out there, both ways. It was fast, too. It was really fast. There were not a lot of whistles, and it just went back and forth really quick."
Ottawa grabbed an early 1-0 lead at 1:22 of the first. Thomas Chabot's shot from center point found its way through traffic and behind Caps goalie Vitek Vanecek to hand Washington an early one-goal deficit.
The Caps didn't give up much after the Chabot goal. The two teams combined for exactly three shots on net at 5-on-5 in the first, all of them from the Sens. All three of those Ottawa shots on net came from the point, and the Caps held the Sens to just one shot in the final 15 minutes of the first.
Washington didn't generate much first period offense, either. The Caps didn't record their first shot on net of the first frame until the 18th minute, and that's when they went on the power play and peppered Murray with five shots during the man advantage.
The Caps came alive in the second, but couldn't solve Murray, who stopped all 16 shots he faced in the middle frame. Meanwhile, Ottawa added to its lead with a second goal early in the period. Alex Formenton carried below the goal line and issued a perfect backhand feed to the front for ex-Cap Zach Sanford, whose shot from the slot made it a 2-0 game at 6:07 of the second.
Early in the third, the Caps started chipping away. A lengthy offensive zone shift paid off when Trevor van Riemsdyk carried down the right-wing wall and put a shot off the right post. It caromed right to Alex Ovechkin in the slot, and he buried it to make it a 2-1 game at 1:39 of the third.

The Caps kept buzzing, and their persistence was rewarded near the midpoint of the period. From behind the Ottawa net, Backstrom put a feed to the front for Ovechkin. His shot went in and out so quickly that none of the officials called it a goal, and the two teams played on for several seconds before the off-ice officials sounded the horn to halt play and take a second look, confirming that the puck had indeed entered the net, and the game was tied at 2-2 at 9:45 of the third. Ovechkin himself didn't think he had scored.
"Obviously I thought it hit the crossbar," recounts the Caps' captain. "That's why I tried to play to the whistle."
"Give them credit," says Sens coach D.J. Smith. "But at the same point, we left Ovechkin open in the slot twice, and he isn't going to miss those."
Both sides had some late chances to jump in front, but for the 13th time in 42 games this season and the second time in as many home games this week, the Caps headed to overtime. Seventy-three seconds later, they had their two points, courtesy of Backstrom's heroics.

Caps defenseman Martin Fehervary tried and nearly did split the Ottawa defense, steaming into the Sens's zone with speed. Ottawa broke up that bid, and Sens forward Josh Norris was trying to make a feed up ice when Backstrom intervened.
"We got a little lucky there, I think," says Backstrom. "It hit my shin pads. Otherwise, it probably would have been a 3-on-2 the other way. But we'll take it, and it's obviously nice to score a goal."