The Ottawa Senators succeeded on one front: they kept Alex Ovechkin from inching closer to the all-time goal-scoring record.
Unfortunately for the home team, the big Russian winger found another way to hurt the Sens – contributing a couple primary assists as the Washington Capitals outlasted Ottawa 3-2 in overtime. A crowd of 17,231 took in the spectacle at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Reminded that at least Ovechkin didn’t score career goal No. 801 on him, which would have tied Ovi with Gordie Howe for second all-time behind Wayne Gretzky, Senators goaltender Cam Talbot took no pleasure.
“I’d rather give up that one and win the game, than not give one up and lose,” Talbot said.
Ovechkin finished with six shots on goal, the most by any player on either team.
Marcus Johansson scored the OT winner with a wrist shot to the top corner that beat Talbot to the stick side. Johansson cruised past a tired Drake Batherson to get open for the shot. It was a Batherson goal in the third period, on a four-minute power play, that sent the game to extra time.
The Senators had three forwards on the ice at the time of the goal, 2:04 into OT: Batherson, Brady Tkachuk and Alex DeBrincat.
Of all the Senators who accepted defeat in this last game before the Christmas break, Talbot was the most sympathetic figure. His stellar play through the first two periods gave the Sens a chance despite being outshot 27-12 after 40 minutes. He kicked out shots left and right, including a big stop on Ovechkin from the high slot in the third period.
At that point, the home team trailed just 2-1, but only because the Caps missed some open nets and Talbot made save after save. On the night, he stopped 37 of 40 Washington shots.
The Sens managed 25, and took some pride in their effort, considering they lost two forwards to injury in the first period, Tyler Motte and Rourke Chartier, and were then down a key defenceman when Jake Sanderson took a puck to the throat early in the third period.
“That was a real gutsy effort by a lot of guys,” said head coach D.J. Smith. “Talbs was great. Clearly, we lost some guys in this game. I just don’t like the way it ends. You’ve got to check harder in overtime, you can’t give them a breakaway.”
Smith said that Sanderson was kept out as a precaution, so the belief is the injury is not serious.
With Sanderson missing and Ottawa enjoying eight minutes of power-play time in the third period, Thomas Chabot’s minutes shot up as in days of old. The defenceman finished with 29:57 of ice time, the most by any player in this game.
That the Senators could only manage one power-play goal in five opportunities was hurtful. But then, it would help if Ottawa could score more five-on-five goals. They continue to languish in the bottom third of the NHL in that category.
Fans at the CTC weren’t openly cheering for Ovechkin to tie Howe for second place, but they did react with gasps when he had chances. He had an open net on the first shift, but didn’t get the puck up on Talbot, who made the pad save.
Ovi showed his playmaking side after that, setting up Evgeni Kuznetsov with a stunning, blind cross-ice pass through traffic, which Kuznetsov converted for a power-play goal.
On his second assist, Ovechkin might have had goal No. 801 as his slap shot trickled through Talbot right to the goal line, where Sonny Milano made sure by tapping it home.
DeBrincat had opened the scoring on Ottawa’s second shot of the game, tipping a high wrist shot from Nick Holden past Darcy Kuemper in the Capitals goal.
Game with Wings postponed
Sportswriters lean on the ‘early Christmas present’ line to describe any number of good things that can happen to a team prior to the Christmas break.
But the Ottawa Senators literally received an early Christmas break due to a raging winter storm that postponed Friday’s scheduled game between the Senators and Detroit Red Wings in Ottawa. Freezing rain and snow pummeled the CTC as fans, media, players and staff left the building following the Caps game.
The new date for the Wings and Senators game is Feb. 27, meaning the Senators and Wings will play a rare back-to-back scenario in the same rink. Detroit was already scheduled to be here on the 28th of February.
As a result of the postponement, the Senators tried to focus on the task at hand – Ovechkin and the Capitals – without worrying about a game the next night (which would have been their fifth in seven days). Smith leaned on his top players heavily, but the Caps used their size and superior board play to control the game for the most part.
Smith: Just get healthy
Smith was asked if he had a message to his players before their stretch of four days off. The Senators play the Boston Bruins at the CTC on Tuesday, before finishing the week (and month) with games in Washington and Detroit.
“We’ve got to get healthy,” Smith said. “We’re going to get some guys back. I think we were 6-3-2 in December and played some really good games . . . but there’s a lot of guys (Thursday) who got into spots they typically wouldn’t be in. So, for me, it’s – get healthy these next four days.
“We want to keep getting points. We want to finish December hard. We want to finish December clearly plus-wins.”
The Capitals were also missing key players, with T.J. Oshie, Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson out of their lineup.
The Sens had been playing some good hockey, winning eight of 11 between Nov. 25 and Dec. 17. But by dropping their last three games, earning one of six points, a little steam has gone out of their push, following a tough month of November.
After crawling back to .500 at 14-14-2, they go into the break 14-16-3 for 31 points, nine points back of Washington in the Wild Card race, with several teams in between Ottawa and Washington. The Sens have 49 games left in their schedule.
“We’re behind where we want to be,” DeBrincat said. “There’s still a lot of hockey to be played. We’re going to come out strong in the second half, get back in the standings and hopefully make a run for that (playoff spot).”
Captain Tkachuk remains optimistic, despite the recent setbacks.
“I’m confident,” Tkachuk said. “Everyone is confident in each other and what we’re doing here. We know we’re right there, right in the mix. With the four days (off) there should be guys coming back, so it’s exciting for those guys and I like where our team is at.
“Of course, there’s some stretches where we could have gotten extra points, but we are definitely confident that we’ll be making up some ground here.”
Centre Tim Stützle returned to action versus the Caps after missing four games with a shoulder injury and played the most of any forward – 27:52. He seemed in good form, except for losing five of his six draws, perhaps a sign that his shoulder is still returning to full strength.
Defencemen Erik Brannstrom, with a lower-body injury, and Artem Zub, a broken jaw, were both missing. Zub is expected back soon, perhaps as early as next week.
Zub extended for four years
One of the best things to happen for Senators fans pre-Christmas was Wednesday’s four-year contract extension for Zub, at a team-friendly AAV of $4.6 million US. In the signing video, general manager Pierre Dorion was visibly delighted at getting the deal done. And why not. Zub, 27, is Ottawa’s steadiest defender and enjoys an outsized popularity with fans, owing to his quiet manner and awesome last name. Fans love to call out “Zuuuuuuuub” when Zub has the puck or makes a big hit.
In improving English, Zub told reporters that he wanted to stay in Ottawa, despite the lure of free agency and bigger dollars elsewhere.
“I am not so quick to transition to a new team,” Zub said. “I need some time to get comfortable.”
Zub is comfortable in Ottawa. And his teammates have embraced him.
“You don’t realize how good of a player he is until you’re on the ice with him,” Tkachuk said. “We’re lucky to get him for another four years. All the guys love him and it’s awesome for his family.”
Asked to explain the popularity of this Russian who could barely speak English when he arrived here in 2020, Tkachuk gave a tip of the cap to Ottawa’s crowd.
“Fans just ran with it,” Tkachuk said. “It’s great to see the passion from the fans.”
