Forsberg makes 33 saves, Senators defeat Capitals

Anton Forsberg made 33 saves and the Ottawa Senators ended a seven-period goal drought in a 4-1 win against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena in Washington on Sunday.

Alex Formenton scored at 5:34 of the first period to give Ottawa a 1-0 lead, the Senators' first goal in 162:39.
"I think people were talking about it more than our guys," Senators coach D.J. Smith said of the goal drought. "It was great 'Formy' scored but that's kind of the way we've been. We get four or five and then we struggle other nights. Tonight was a night it went in for us."
Brady Tkachuk and Connor Brown each had a goal and an assist for the Senators (17-24-4), who had been shut out in their previous two games, including a 2-0 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
"Everybody stepped up and elevated their game," Tkachuk said. "Obviously, we weren't happy with bits and pieces of our last two games. Everybody gave a gutsy effort tonight, so we're really happy with the outcome. It was fun out there."

Ilya Samsonov made 22 saves for the Capitals (26-15-9), who have lost five straight at home.
"Last couple weeks here we haven't played with that flow that we did earlier, like the mojo like we used to have here," forward Nicklas Backstrom said. "I feel like we are putting ourselves in bad spots, D-zone, neutral zone, we are not creating as much as we should. I just think that everything needs to be better."
Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin had an assist but has not scored a goal in his past six games, leaving him one short of reaching 30 for the 16th NHL season.
Formenton scored his third shorthanded goal of the season. He fed Brown on the rush, took a return pass in the slot and scored on one-timer.
"Being on the power play is where we want to be and make a difference, and it works against you," Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. "Right away you're digging out of a hole. So not the start we were looking for with regard to that."

Adam Gaudette gave Ottawa a 2-0 lead at 15:11 when received a backhand pass across the slot from Zach Sanford and went around Samsonov to tuck the puck in.
Forsberg made a sliding save to rob Tom Wilson at the right post at 4:37 of the second period. Wilson raised his arm to celebrate before seeing Forsberg had the puck.
"He's so solid," Brown said of Forsberg. "We have so much confidence in him when he's back there. When you have confidence in your goalie like that, you can kind of take a breath and play with poise."

Backstrom pulled the Capitals within 2-1 46 seconds into the second period when he scored a power-play goal off the rebound of Ovechkin's shot.
Tkachuk made it 3-1 at 18:24, knocking in a loose puck during a scramble for a rebound. The goal came 31 seconds after Ottawa killed off a penalty.
Brown extended the lead to 4-1 at 10:29 of the third period when he took a pass from Tkachuk at the blue line and scored on a wrist shot from the slot.
"We can't get frustrated," Capitals defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk said. "We've got a lot of guys that played a lot of games that know that pressing or getting frustrated is not going to solve anything."
Ottawa went 3-2-0 in a stretch of five games in seven days.
"Resilient," Brown said. "It's not easy to play five in seven. The boys battled hard this week, so it feels good."
NOTES: Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot left the game at 6:30 of the third period after a hit by Wilson. Formenton left at 13:40 following a hit by Capitals forward Garnet Hathaway. Smith said they were pulled for precautionary reasons and did not have an update on either player. … Brown has scored 201 points (87 goals, 114 assists) in 411 NHL games. … Ottawa played without forward Austin Watson, who was suspended for two games for interference against Boston defenseman Jack Ahcan during the first period on Saturday. … In 15 games on Super Bowl Sunday, Ovechkin has scored 12 goals (second-most in NHL history behind Phil Esposito's 16), and 19 points (second-most behind Esposito's 32). … Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov had his five-game point streak (two goals, five assists) end.