WASHINGTON — What was supposed to be a special night for Alex Ovechkin turned ugly fast against the Ottawa Senators, as a key injury up front, disastrous second period and overall lack of energy led to a brutal loss on home ice.

As Ovechkin skated in his 1,500th game and eyed his 900th career NHL goal, the Capitals came out flat, and couldn't get much going in a 7-1 defeat.

Here are all the takeaways:

Disastrous Second Dooms Capitals In Overall Flat Effort, Frustration Boils Over

Going into the second trailing 1-0 after a first-period redirect goal from Dylan Cozens, the Capitals had the chance to get back in the game. They'd never come close to that.

Washington managed just three shots through the first period and a half, struggling to complete passes, get high-quality chances or generate any kind of chemistry up front.

Meanwhile, the Senators were surging. Shane Pinto drove hard to the net, and Jakob Chychrun pushed him into Charlie Lindgren as he snuck the puck past the goal line. The play was reviewed and deemed a goal, and the Capitals elected to challenge for goaltender interference, but lost, with Chychrun having pushed Pinto into the net.

In turn, Ottawa went to a power play, where Cozens got behind the penalty killers and deked a smooth shot past Lindgren. Minutes later, Dylan McIlrath went off for an ill-timed line change, after some pushing and shoving, and in turn, Lindgren was left to face another breakaway for Nick Cousins, who snuck home another goal to make it 4-0. At that point, the Senators had more goals than Washington had shots.

Late in the middle frame, frustration boiled over, as Lindgren dropped Ridly Greig in front of his crease before getting into it with the Senators behind the net. Linus Ullmark attempted to start a goalie fight and came down the ice, but the referees weren't having it.

It was a heated exchange that gave the Capitals some needed life, but it wasn't enough to spark a comeback, which was too late, anyway.

Washington's penalty kill then went on to give up two power-play goals in the third courtesy of Drake Batherson and Thomas Chabot, and Batherson struck again after the puck bounced off John Carlson's skate and right onto his tape in front to make it a 7-1 defeat.

The Capitals ended the night being outshot 32-13.

Trevor van Riemsdyk Gets Lone Goal For Capitals & Ryan Leonard Finds Scoresheet Again, But Overall, Washington Puts Up Flat Effort 

Minutes after Ottawa made it 5-0 after the ensuing third-period power play from Lindgren's scrum, Trevor van Riemsdyk got the Capitals on the board.

Van Riemsdyk made a power move and drove to the net before feeding Ryan Leonard for a shot in front. He then snuck home Leonard's rebound to get D.C. a goal.

It marked Van Riemsdyk's first of the season; he had one goal all of last year.

Meanwhile, Ryan Leonard now has points in three of his last four games overall as he continues to build confidence.

While the Capitals were able to get one on the night, it was a frustrating night. Passes weren't connecting, the Senators controlled play and Washington looked disengaged and lost over the course of the game.

Capitals Lose Dylan Strome To Injury

As Pierre-Luc Dubois returned from a lower-body ailment, the Capitals lost another key center to injury, as Dylan Strome left after the first period of Saturday's contest.

Strome was skating in the offensive zone on the power play when he got tied up with Artem Zub and went down before Jakob Chychrun landed hard on his leg. The 28-year-old then went hard into the end boards and needed help getting off the ice.

Though he returned for a couple of shifts later in the frame, Strome ultimately went to the locker room again and did not return.

It's unclear at this time what the severity of Strome's injury is, though it's not a good sign for D.C. as he tried to come back and ultimately, couldn't stay in the game.

With Strome out, the Capitals failed to compensate for the offense he brings, and ultimately, it paved the way for an ugly showing up front.

Strome Leaves Capitals-Senators With Lower-Body Injury Capitals center Dylan Strome went down hard into the end boards in the first period.