Capitals eke out win in Ottawa despite 'worst period of the season'

While the Washington Capitals started off quickly into their game in Ottawa Tuesday and controlled play in the first, the hosts took over the game for a long stretch and controlled the game in the second and third periods.

Just when the Capitals seemed to be stuck in neutral as time wound down, they finally managed to claw back down the stretch and earn a 3-2 overtime win by scoring on their last 2 shots on goal.

Washington's offense was nearly non-existent the last 2 periods, and the defense relied on goaltender Logan Thompson to keep them close.

While Washington only recorded 6 shots in the last 41:14 of play, they scored on their final two - Pierre-Luc Dubois' with 7:29 left in regulation to tie the game, and Cole Hutson's at 1:14 of overtime for the winner.

The Capitals returned to the road for just the 5th time in 16 games, they moved to 3-2-0 in a game they admitted they probably didn't deserve to win.

"First period, solid," Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said afterwards. "Second, worst period of the season."

"I think it's a sign of a good team to win games that, you don't play well," Pierre-Luc Dubois said. "It's a sign of a good team, man. 

"You don't want it to happen too often, but who knows might be in the playoffs, maybe Game 1. We don't play well, we still need to win. So gotta find a way to get a win."

The night started off well enough for Washington, as the Capitals struck just 35 seconds into the contest as Matt Roy's shot from the blue line eluded Sam Ersson. The goal was Roy's first of the season.

While Washington controlled most of the first period and dominated the shot clock with an 11-5 advantage, as well as blocking plenty of Senators shots, it was just a 1-0 lead.

Ottawa took over in the second, rolling to a 16-2 shot advantage in the frame, and putting Thompson under pressure nearly the entire period.

While Thompson kept Washington in front for a majority of the period, Ridly Greig made a nice move in front and beat Thompson with 8:55 left in the second. 

Ottawa took more control of the play and had plenty of good looks on the Capitals goaltender, and finally took the lead when Hayden Hodgson snuck behind the defense and converted a Thomas Chabot pass and beat Thompson with 3:56 left in the period - his first tally since March 24, 2022 when he was a member of the Flyers.

But Thompson gave the Capitals a chance despite the lousy stretch of play, allowing just the 2 goals.

"[Thompson] deserves a ton of credit for tonight because at 2-1, that easily could have gone to 3-1, 4-1, 5-1," Carbery said. "Like, we hung him out too dry, and for him to keep that game, that one goal to at least give us a fighting chance in the 3rd period."

The Capitals' lack of offensive pressure extended into the third, as Washington strung together a 21-minute shot drought that ended early in the period. 

However, a power play halfway through the period helped the Capitals generate some offense, and while they didn't score on the man advantage, they were able to draw even on just their 16th shot of the game on a Pierre-Luc Dubois tally.

Washington nearly took the lead with under 5 minutes to play, but Ersson made a nice save on his back to keep the score knotted at 2.

Jakob Chychrun earned the ire of his former team with 2:57 left to play with a hit that knocked Nick Cousins out of the game. Initially under review for a major, the hit was deemed clean and the Capitals dodged a huge bullet.

The Senators took a delay-of-game penalty with 1:07 in regulation, and again, while Ottawa killed the penalty, Hutson delivered the game-winner with a shot past Ersson with 1:14 gone in the extra frame.

The game-winner also made a bit of Capitals history, as Alex Ovechkin notched his 762nd career helper, tying Nicklas Backstrom on the franchise’s all-time list.

The Capitals ended up scoring on their last two shots, but they were 9:43 apart. But it was enough to take the two points and hit the road.

"We didn't really play that great, so, um, it's good to get that win," Hutson said after. "LT stood on his head. He won that game for us ... Good start to the road trip and hopefully we can play better next game."

While there was a lot of talk before the game in the local press about a planned rally held by the Ukranian Canadian Congress outside the Canadian Tire Centre, the rally had a reported 10 attendees to protest Ovechkin's appearances in political ads in his native Russia.

Washington concludes its brief two-game road trip in Newark Thursday to start a home-and-home with the Devils, in which they can expect to face Connor Hellebucyk off his non-start in his former home in Winnipeg. The goaltender is 5-0-0 since his trade from the Jets, and clearly the Capitals will have their hands full as he has an 8-5-2 record and .923 career save percentage vs. Washington.