Washington Capitals Snap Three-Game Losing-Streak, Overtake Ottawa Senators In 5-4 Shootout Win Despite Blowing 3-0 Lead; Pierre-Luc Dubois Records Three Points, Sets Career-High With 37th Assist

Washington Capitals Snap Three-Game Losing-Streak, Overtake Ottawa Senators In 5-4 Shootout Win Despite Blowing 3-0 Lead; Pierre-Luc Dubois Records Three Points, Sets Career-High With 37th Assist

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Photo: @Capitals

The Washington Capitals topped the Ottawa Senators by a score of 5-4 in a shootout at Capital One Arena on Monday to halt their season-long three-game regulation losing streak. Washington improved to 39-14-8 (.705 points percentage) this season but finished their season-long homestand 2-3-0. Goaltender Logan Thompson, who set a career high with his 26th win of the season, made 30 saves in his second consecutive start.

Washington’s Lines

Ovechkin — Dylan Strome — Aliaksei Protas
Connor McMichael — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Tom Wilson
Andrew Mangiapane – Lars Eller — Ethen Frank
Brandon Duhaime — Nic Dowd — Taylor Raddysh

Rasmus Sandin — John Carlson
Martin Fehervary — Matt Roy
Jakob Chychrun — Trevor Van Riemsdyk

Thompson
Charlie Lindgren

  • Scratched
    • D Dylan McIlrath
    • D Alexander Alexeyev
    • LW Jakub Vrana
  • Injured
    • LW Sonny Milano (upper-body)
    • C Nicklas Backstrom (hip)
    • RW T.J. Oshie (back)

Ottawa’s Lines

Brady Tkachuk — Tim Stützle — Claude Giroux
David Perron — Josh Norris — Drake Batherson
Noah Gregor – Shane Pinto — Michael Amadio
Angus Crookshank — Adam Gaudette — Matthew Highmore

Jake Sanderson — Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot — Nick Jensen
Travis Hamonic — Nikolas Matinpalo

Linus Ullmark
Anton Forsberg

  • Scratched
  • Injured
    • C Noah Gregor (lower-body)
    • C Nick Cousins (knee)
    • D Tyler Kleven (lower-body)

First Period

Scoring

  • 1:41, 1-0 Washington: McMichael tucked in a shot at the left post after going from backhand to forehand after winning n a stick battle against Ullmark and Ullmark turned aside Fehervary’s wrister from the right point. Ottawa challenged for goaltender interference after McMichael and Jensen were tied up in front of Ullmark but the goal stood. McMichael, who ranks fourth on Washington with 22 goals, has scored three in his last five games. Fehervary (14 in 61 games) has established a new single-season career high in assists (previously 2023-24: 13 in 66).
  • 3:34, 2-0: With the teams playing four-on-four, Dubois tipped in McMichael’s pass past the left pad of Ullmark in front of the goal crease after McMichael got the puck at the top of the right half-wall and shuffled down low from the top with Norris on him. Dubois has notched his 11th multi-point game of the season. Dubois has recorded 24 points (nine goals) in 24 career games against Ottawa, which is tied for the most he has registered against a single franchise (9-15–24 in 25 vs. Vancouver Canucks). McMichael has registered his 11th multi-point performance of the season and has recorded six points (three goals) in his last six games.

Tkachuk took down Wilson after the two exchanged punches with 30.3 seconds to go and Giroux caught Wilson up high and Wilson chirped him.

Stats

  • 19-11 Washington in shots
  • .6 Washington on faceoffs
  • Both teams failed to score on two power plays in the first
  • 8-3 Ottawa in hits
  • 6-2 Washington in blocked shots
  • 8-1 Washington in giveaways
Graph: Natural StatTrick

Second Period

Scoring

  • 6:53, 3-0 (PPG): Wilson one-timed a shot under the blocker of Ullmark from the slot after Dubois set him up from the right side of the goal-line. Wilson has recorded 11 points (seven goals) in his last 10 games. The tally marks Wilson’s 11th power-play goal of the season, which leads the Capitals and is tied for the sixth-most in the NHL. Dubois notched his third point of the night. Dubois (37 in 61) has established a new single-season career high in assists (previously set in 2022-23: 36 in 73 with Winnipeg Jets). Strome (42 in 61) tied his single-season career high in assists (set in 81 during 2022-23 season). Strome (18-42-60 in 61) has reached the 60-point mark for the third consecutive season (2023-24: 67 in 82; 2022-23: 65 in 81). Strome registered his team-leading 26th power-play point (6-20-26) on the goal and has factored in on 26 of Washington’s 41 power-play goals this season (.634).
  • 12:18, 3-1: Pinto executed a give-and-go with Sanderson down the ice with speed. Pinto drove to the front and buried a cross-ice pass down low.

Stats

  • 31-24 Washington in shots
    • 13-12 Ottawa during second period
  • .568 Washington on faceoffs
  • Ottawa did not score on three power plays in first two periods
    • Washington scored once on their first four opportunities
  • 13-9 Ottawa in hits
  • 17-7 Washington in blocked shots
  • 13-9 Washington in giveaways

Third Period

Scoring

  • 1:05, 3-2 (PPG): Giroux blasted a slapper that went short side on Thompson from the right dot after getting a feed by Sanderson from the top and Stutzle gave the puck to Sanderson from the right half-wall.
  • 8:01, 3-3: Eller tipped Amadio’s backhand pass from the goal-line in under the blocker of Thompson while trying to block a pass to Amadio in front of the net.
  • 12:43, 4-3 Washington: Fehervary ripped a wrist shot over the glove of Ullmark after Wilson raced into the offensive zone, executed a cross-ice give-and-go with Protas, and put the puck on a tee for Fehervary in the high left dot. With a goal and an assist tonight, Fehervary has notched his third multi-point performance of the season. Wilson recorded his 20th assist of the season on Fehervary’s go-ahead goal, completing his second career Gordie Howe hat trick (also 10/31/2024 in a 6-3 win vs. Montreal Canadiens). Wilson has reached the 20-assist mark for fifth time in his career (2021-22: 28, 2019-20: 23, 2017-18: 21, 2020-21: 20). 48 of Protas’ 51 points this season have come at even strength.
  • 18:52, 4-4 (PPG): After Dowd blocked Sanderson’s shot off of Stutzle’s feed, he gave it back. Thompson turned aside Stutzle’s blast but Tkachuk was on the doorstep to tuck the puck in to tie it.

Stats

  • 39-34 Washington in shots
  • .571 Ottawa on faceoffs
  • Ottawa finished two-for-seven on the power play
  • 21-10 Ottawa in hits
  • 28-14 Washington in blocked shots
  • 21-15 Washington in giveaways

Overtime

Scoring: N/A

Shots: 41-37 Washington, but 3-1 Ottawa in OT

Shootout

Dubois skated in with speed, deked, and was stopped by Ullmark with the glove.

Batherson roared in, deked, got Thompson down, and Thompson flashed the glove at the left post.

Carlson skated in but Ullmark shut down the five-hole.

Stutzle sneaked in, deked, and was stopped with the glove by Thompson.

Strome skated in, deked, went to the backhand, got Ullmark down and out, and put one over the pad. Strome scored his second career game-deciding shootout goal.

Giroux had the five hole closed off by Thompson to seal the win for Washington.

The Capitals, who improved to 10-1-2 in their last 13 games against Ottawa at Capital One Arena, have scored seven power-play goals on 20 opportunities (35.0 percent) over their last seven games.

Washington extended their lead for first in the Metropolitan Division over the Carolina Hurricanes by 12 points with each team down to 21 games to go in the regular season. They are also nine ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have a game in hand, for first in the Eastern Conference.

Next game: Wednesday at New York Rangers (7:30 PM ET, TNT)

By Harrison Brown

About Harrison Brown

Harrison is a diehard Caps fan and a hockey fanatic with a passion for sports writing. He attended his first game at age 8 and has been a season ticket holder since the 2010-2011 season. His fondest Caps memory was watching the Capitals hoist the Stanley Cup in Las Vegas. In his spare time, he enjoys travel, photography, and hanging out with his two dogs. Follow Harrison on Twitter @HarrisonB927077

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