The Capitals remain out of playoff position.
WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals were looking to get back to their identity in order to snap a five-game losing skid against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday. But despite high spirits after honoring John Carlson pregame, they couldn't get back in the win column.
Max Pacioretty and Aliaksei Protas scored in regulation, but Jake Sanderson scored the overtime winner in a 3-2 loss that extended the losing streak to six games.
Here are all the takeaways from the defeat, which puts D.C. at 83 points.
Pacioretty & Protas Snap Goal Droughts To Help Struggling Capitals Offense, Lines Shuffle
It'd been a long time coming for Max Pacioretty, who had last scored on Feb. 27 in Detroit. And on Sunday, his fourth goal of the season and first in 18 games would get the Capitals on the board early and spark the offense, which has been struggling of late.
Pacioretty got to the front of the net and made no mistake on a picture-perfect passing play, sniping a feed from Hendrix Lapierre past Joonas Korpisalo to make it a 1-0 game.
Then, in the second, with the game tied 1-1 and Washington managing just 10 shots on goal, Protas buried a rebound in front to snap a 16-game goal drought and restore the lead for the Capitals.
While Washington got on the board twice, offense continues to be an issue; at times, the Capitals will overpass and find themselves looking for the perfect play rather than getting pucks on goal, and they also spent a lot of time in their own zone defending.
Washington also experimented with some different combinations, putting Connor McMichael and Sonny Milano in Tom Wilson's spot on the first line while Wilson went to operate on the fourth line.
Ultimately, it wasn't enough, as Jake Sanderson won things in overtime.
Lindgren & Capitals Give Up Two Leads On Errors, Fall In OT
Washington got another decent showing from Charlie Lindgren, who stopped 18 of 21 shots, and the defense also combined to block 19 shot attempts, but it wasn't enough.
The team gave up two leads, as Mark Kastelic was given too much time and space on the Senators' first goal while Nick Jensen screened Lindgren on Ridley Greig's strike.
Then, Sanderson would win it in overtime for Ottawa.
Capitals Lose Sandin To Injury
The Capitals were down to five defensemen after the first period, though, as the team lost Rasmus Sandin to an upper-body injury.
Sandin was skating into the offensive zone to close out the opening frame when he took a heavy hit along the boards from Parker Kelly. He went down in discomfort, and a scrum ensued as Mark Kastelic got into it with Tom Wilson and Dylan Strome.
There was no penalty on the hit, though Kastelic got four minutes for roughing.
Sandin logged just 7:09 minutes before his night came to a close. It is unclear what his status is going forward.
John Carlson Honored For 1,000 Games
Before the game, John Carlson was given the All-Star treatment as Washington went above and beyond to pay tribute to him for hitting 1,000 NHL games.
Carlson was tricked by his teammates in warmups as he was given the rookie treatment and took a solo lap, and he also got to bring his sons onto the ice for a skate, too.
The 34-year-old was also honored with a pregame ceremony, where he received a number of gifts from the organization and league, along with a tribute.
Top Shelf Takes
- Alex Ovechkin had 15 shot attempts. Two made it on goal, five were blocked and eight missed the net.
- Lapierre picked up his fifth assist in seven games, and he also moved into third place in scoring among NHL rookies since Feb. 26, when he made his return to the NHL from Hershey.
- Beck Malenstyn played in his 100th NHL game on Sunday and led with five hits.
- Trevor van Riemsdyk has assists in back-to-back games.