Capitals rally for OT win against Senators on Backstrom, Ovechkin goals

WASHINGTON-- Nicklas Backstrom scored at 1:13 of overtime to give the Washington Capitals a 3-2 win against the Ottawa Senators at Capital One Arena on Saturday.

Backstrom blocked Josh Norris' clearing attempt, deked and lifted a backhand over Matt Murray's left pad for the unassisted game-winner.
"We got a little lucky there, I think. Hit my shin pads, otherwise it probably would have been a 3-on-2 the other way," Backstrom said. "The puck was bouncing a little bit, so I was just trying to make it flat. Then I got too close to shoot, I thought. You've got to trust a good old backhand sometime."

Alex Ovechkin scored twice in the third period to tie the game for the Capitals (23-10-9), who have 10 consecutive wins against the Senators since Jan. 24, 2017 (a 3-0 loss). Vitek Vanecek made 20 saves.
"I thought we just stayed with the game the entire game regardless of the score," Washington coach Peter Laviolette said. "We thought if we could get one, then one might lead to two and then we'll 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."
Thomas Chabot and Zach Sanford scored for the Senators (11-20-3), who have lost three straight. Murray made 30 saves after missing two games with a non-COVID-19 illness.
"Give them credit, but at the same point we left Ovechkin open in the slot twice and he isn't going to miss those," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "And then in overtime it's a tough turnover."
Ovechkin tied it 2-2 at 9:43 when he scored off a pass from Backstrom behind the goal line. Play continued for 16 seconds until it was halted and ruled a goal.
Asked if he knew the shot went in, Ovechkin said, "No. I thought it hit the crossbar, that's why I tried to play until the whistle."
Ovechkin made it 2-1 at 1:39 on the rebound of Trevor van Riemsdyk's shot. The forward has scored eight points (five goals, three assists) in a seven-game point streak and is one goal from his 16th 30-goal season in the NHL.
"You get a 2-0 (lead) going into the third. You know they're coming with a push," Smith said. "We sat back into our zone. We've got to keep pucks going north, and it ends up, after a long shift mind you, 'Ovi' finds a way to score."

Chabot gave the Senators a 1-0 lead at 1:22 of the first period from the center point.
Sanford made it 2-0 at 6:07 of the second period after Alex Formenton controlled a loose puck along the right boards, skated behind the goal line and passed in front.
"I think we had a good first two periods, and just with a skilled team like that you can't have any breaks and let off the gas," Formenton said. "But there's a lot of good things that we did in that game."
NOTES: The Capitals, who lost 4-3 to the Boston Bruins on Thursday, are 7-0-3 following a regulation loss this season. ... Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov has scored eight points (two goals, six assists) in a seven-game point streak. ... Capitals forward Carl Hagelin played his 700th NHL game. ... Ottawa hasn't won a regular-season game at Washington since Jan. 21, 2014 (2-0). ... Formenton has scored eight points (two goals, six assists) in his past seven games. ... Former Capitals forward Mike Gartner holds the NHL record of 17 30-goal seasons; he had 10 with Washington.