Hutson scores in OT, Capitals rally past Senators

OTTAWA -- Cole Hutson scored his first career overtime goal at 1:14, giving the Washington Capitals a 3-2 win against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday.

The defenseman sent a wrist shot from the top of the right face-off circle to the far side with bodies in front of Ottawa goaltender Samuel Ersson during 4-on-4 play after a Washington power play ended.

Hutson added an assist, and Matt Roy and Pierre-Luc Dubois also scored for the Capitals (10-6-0), who have won two straight. 

“Some games you play really well, and you don't win, and then sometimes you play one of your worst games of the year, and you somehow find a way,” Dubois said. “So it's not how we want to play, you know, consistently moving forward. But at the end of the day, it can be the difference between not making the playoffs and making them. So we're not going to feel bad, but we can do a lot better than that.”

Alex Ovechkin factored on Hutson’s goal to tie Nicklas Backstrom (762) for the most assists in Capitals history, and Logan Thompson made 24 saves.

“It was a fun game,” Thompson said. “It was good to play a team like that with all their firepower.”

Ridly Greig and Hayden Hodgson scored for the Senators (11-6-2), who had won two in a row. 

“I thought we played awesome tonight,” Ottawa coach Travis Green said. “One of our better games of the year. … I thought we deserved to get two points, not just one.”

Thomas Chabot had two assists, and Ersson made 14 saves.

“Honestly, we knew it was going to be a tight game, playing a very talented and deep team on the other side,” said Chabot, the Senators captain. “They tied it late and obviously, to lose it in OT (stinks), but I think there's still a little bit of positive out of it, and we’ve got to obviously focus on the next game.”

Dubois tied it 2-2 at 12:31 of the third period after Hutson fed him with a cross-ice pass in the right circle.

“Key moments, goalies, PK, power plays, you know, stuff like that -- that's how you get a win, even if you don't play well,” Dubois said. “And that's what we did tonight.”

Roy had put the Capitals up 1-0 with a slap shot from the point at 35 seconds of the first period, scoring on the first shot of the game.

Greig tied it 1-1 at 11:05 of the second period. After Ottawa sustained offensive-zone pressure, Greig took a cross-ice pass from Chabot in the left circle, moved into the low slot and went forehand to backhand before flipping a shot to the blocker side.

“I thought overall 5-on-5 from the second on, I thought we took the game over,” Chabot said. “They had nothing, and we created tons of chances. And then, obviously, we end up on the wrong side of it.”

Hodgson gave the Senators a 2-1 lead on the rush at 16:04 after Chabot set him up for a wrist shot from low in the right circle to the short side. Hodgson had not scored an NHL goal since March 24, 2022.

“It felt good, you know, to get that off my back,” Hodgson said. “And in a tight game like that, you know, I wish we would have had a better outcome, but it felt good.”

Ottawa outshot Washington 17-2 in the second period. 

“We'll take it and move on,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “Not pretty. First period solid. Second, worst period of the season. Third was OK, a little bit better.”

Washington went 21:05 without a shot on goal, spanning from 5:24 of the second to 6:29 of the third.

Senators forward Nick Cousins left the game and had to be helped off the ice with 2:57 remaining in the third after being hit along the boards by Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun. He did not return to the game.

“You don't want to see that,” Hodgson said. “You know, he's a heart-and-soul guy. He's an unbelievable teammate, and it just took the life out of us. It (stinks) to see."

When asked after the game for an update on Cousins’ status, Green said, “He’s not doing great.”

NOTES: Hutson has 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 30 games and became the fastest Capitals defenseman to record 20 career points, besting the mark held by Greg Theberge (33 games).