Batherson, Cozens each gets 3 points, Senators cruise past Capitals

WASHINGTON -- Dylan Cozens and Drake Batherson each had two goals and an assist, leading the Ottawa Senators to a 7-1 win against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Saturday.

Shane Pinto, Nick Cousins and Thomas Chabot also scored for the Senators (4-4-1), who are 3-1-1 in their past five games. Linus Ullmark made 12 saves.

“A strong game from our group,” Senators coach Travis Green said. “I just liked our focus right from the drop of the puck. When you beat a team like Washington, you’ve played a good game.”

Trevor van Riemsdyk scored for the Capitals (6-3-0), who won 5-1 at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday. Charlie Lindgren made 27 saves.

“Disappointing,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “We were not good in any facet of the game. Right from puck drop. ... Not good enough. Embarrassing performance at home from our group."

Alex Ovechkin became the eighth player in NHL history to play 1,500 games with one franchise. He had one shot on goal and remains one goal away from becoming the first player to reach 900 in the NHL.

“He had me in the first period. I’m just lucky that he missed the net,” Ullmark said. “But once the game started going along, we were doing a really good job of making sure that we kind of limited his time and space for opportunities for him to shoot.”

Cozens gave the Senators a 1-0 lead at 1:58 of the first period when he redirected a pass from Artem Zub past Lindgren from the slot.

Pinto made it 2-0 at 3:27 of the second period when he stole the puck, came in on a partial breakaway and poked the puck in. The net came loose after he collided with Lindgren, and after a review the goal was upheld as the puck crossed the goal line before the net was displaced.

The Capitals challenged for goaltender interference, but it was determined that Washington defenseman Jakob Chychrun pushed Pinto into Lindgren.

“Honestly it was more a product of we felt like the odds of us getting it right were probably slim,” Carbery said, “but judging by the way that our group looked, I felt like we needed keep that game 1-0, so it was worth a shot.”

On the ensuing power play, Cozens increased the lead to 3-0 when he took a back-door pass from Batherson, deked around Lindgren at the net front and lifted in a backhander at 4:27.

“When Drake has the puck down there, I know he’s a great passer, so I just tried to find a spot and he made a great play to me and just found a way to get it in,” Cozens said. “So, it was a great play by Drake.”

Cousins extended it to 4-0 at 6:22 when he was sent in on a breakaway by Stutzle and scored.

Ottawa outshot Washington 19-6 in the first and second periods.

“We’ve been talking a lot about defending and playing a checking game, checking for your chances and I thought tonight was a good example of that,” Green said.

Batherson made it 5-0 when he knocked in a rebound during a power play 55 seconds into the third period.

Van Riemsdyk scored during a goal-mouth scramble at 5:04 to cut it to 5-1.

Chabot pushed the lead to 6-1 with a power-play goal through traffic at 9:47. Batherson scored at 14:22 for the 7-1 final.

“We just didn’t have the legs to tilt the ice at any point throughout the game, and it ends up pretty lopsided,” Capitals forward Tom Wilson said.

NOTES: Capitals forward Dylan Strome left the game in the first period with a lower-body injury. Carbery said Strome will be evaluated on Sunday. … The Senators scored a season-high seven goals and recorded seven or more in a road game for the first time since an 8-2 victory versus the Panthers on Dec. 14, 2021. … Batherson has 300 points (118 goals, 182 assists) in 397 NHL games. … Ottawa forward Claude Giroux collected his 162nd career multiassist game and needs one to tie Nicklas Backstrom (163) on the NHL’s all-time list. ... Ovechkin joined Joe Thornton (1,714 GP) as the second first-overall pick to skate in 1,500 games.