Depleted Caps squander early lead in 5-2 loss to Senators originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Down two of their top six forwards from their opening night roster, the Capitals took a 2-0 lead over the Ottawa Senators midway through the first period but couldn’t hold onto it. The Senators ripped off five unanswered goals to steal the 5-2 win and halt the Capitals’ early-season winning streak at two.
Washington took on the Senators down both center Evgeny Kuznetsov due to a one-game suspension for high-sticking and winger Connor Brown, who suffered a lower-body injury Monday that’s expected to require a long-term absence.
As a result, the Capitals rolled out a different look on their forward lines than what they had iced over their last few games. Forwards Connor McMichael and Joe Snively both made their season debuts, but neither logged a point on the stat sheet as the road team struggled to get its offense going after a promising first period.
Here are three takeaways from the Capitals’ loss to the Senators.
Power play stays hot with two early strikes
The Capitals entered play Thursday with three goals in their last five power-play chances dating back to Saturday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens. After starting off the year an ugly 0-for-9 on the man advantage, the Capitals had recovered in impressive fashion.
That success carried over into their game against Ottawa. Washington found itself in a 5-on-3 situation about halfway through the first period when the Senators’ Jake Sanderson was called for tripping T.J. Oshie and Travis Hamonic fired the puck over the glass for a delay of game. Marcus Johansson found an open Oshie in the left circle to give the Capitals the lead.
Washington got the goal off in time to retain the regular power play and they took advantage of that as well. Thirty-four seconds after Oshie scored, Anthony Mantha fired a one-timer that beat Senators goalie Anton Forsberg to his glove side.
Flurry of penalties burns Caps in second period
Washington dominated puck possession and the shots on goal margin in the first period, but the Senators brought the aggressive play style with them out of the locker room for the second.
The game turned into a chippy contest that saw 10 penalties called between the two teams including a pair of five-minute majors for fighting handed down to forwards Connor McMichael and Parker Kelly.
However, it was the penalties against the Capitals that proved to be the most consequential. Oshie was called for separate penalties of both tripping and slashing; they each resulted in power-play goals for the Senators, both scored by center Drake Batherson.
Senators turn up pressure to keep Caps on their heels
As mentioned earlier, the Capitals dominated puck possession in the first period. They fired 12 shots on goal to the Senators’ seven, using a few early penalties to grab a 2-0 lead.
It was almost all Ottawa from there. The Senators outshot the Capitals 37-12 the rest of the way, scoring three unanswered to erase the multi-goal deficit. The final blow came in the front half of the third period in a five-on-five situation where center Shane Pinto found some empty space in the slot and beat Kuemper through the five-hole.
The Senators kept up the pressure, forcing Kuemper all over the place as he tried to keep the Capitals in the game.
Ultimately, the Capitals couldn’t even up the score and a pair of empty netters sealed it for Ottawa. Washington fell to 2-3 on the season with the loss. It will look to get back on track Saturday at home against the Los Angeles Kings.
