Caps Spread the Wealth Against Senators

The Capitals were able to take both games of their homestand, grinding down Pascal Leclaire and the Senators in a 5-2 decision before the team heads back on the road for a three-game swing through the Southeast.

The team got production from a grinder, a mucker, their captain and then a pair of insurance goals from one of their other stars, as the team was able to put enough pressure on the Senators netminder and limit chances against Jose Theodore, who won his first game at home since Dec. 11 with a good performance.

Nicklas Backstrom iced the win in the third with a pair of goals, giving him 17 on the year as the Caps extinguished a brief Senators threat to grab their second straight win following their three-game skid.

The Capitals started off strong and controlled the first few minutes, and got a good chance to open the scoring, as Alex Ovechkin's one-timer was stopped by Leclaire just :15 into the contest. The other Alex had a good chance just over a minute later, but was stopped on a breakaway to keep the game scoreless in the first 89 seconds.

The game settled down after the flurry of good chances, and Theodore, making his first start since Dec. 28th, was able to make a few decent stops to shake off some of the rust.

The Caps then got on the board with some good work from the grinders, as they were able to keep the pressure on the Sens and cash in to open the scoring, with Boyd Gordon scoring 9:29 into the period by depositing a rebound after Leclaire stopped a flurry of shots off Matt Bradley and David Steckel. The goal was Gordon's first since New Year's Day 2009, snapping a goalless drought of 371 days.

Brendan Morrison was whistled for an interference penalty with 9:36 to go in the period, but the Caps were able to limit the Sens' chances and nearly got a goal right after the penalty expired when Backstrom surprised Leclaire with a shot and just missed the far post.

Ottawa got another power-play chance when Alex Ovechkin was whistled for a borderline trip in the defensive zone with 5:27 to play, but the Capitals limited the Senators' offense during the minor to kill it easily.

Washington then doubled its lead with 2:14 left in the frame as Mike Knuble took a Backstrom feed and broke down the wing and put a shot past Leclaire for a 2-0 lead.

The Senators opened the second with the edge in play, putting some good shots on Theodore before the Caps tilted the ice towards Leclaire a couple of minutes into the frame. Washington then got its first chance with the extra-man 6:59 into the second, as Nick Foligno was whistled for holding in the offensive zone, but the Caps had trouble generating much offense and failed to convert.

The period got a bit sloppy with both teams struggling to control the puck and not really generating many chances. Ovechkin had the best chance to change the score with just over six minutes to play as he pried the puck loose at the blueline and came in on Leclaire, but couldn't get a clean shot off and the score remained 2-0 Caps.

Washington got their second chance with the power-play when the Sens were whistled for too many men with 4:42 to play, and this one produced more scoring chances, but still no goals. Ovechkin had some clear shots during the advantage and the Caps nearly put the puck in a scrum in front of the cage, but Leclaire was able to tuck the puck under himself before it crossed the goal line.

However, soon after the penalty expired, the Sens got on the board on a redirection of a Chris Phillips shot off that was redirected in off of a stopping Mike Green's skate, cutting the lead in half with 2:15 to play.

However, the Caps restored the lead to two goals just :26 into the third, as Backstrom took an Ovechkin feed and shot at a sharp angle, but it deflected off Leclarie's shoulder and into the net for a 3-1 edge.

Things then got chippy 4:30 into the frame, as after Jonathan Cheechoo was stopped on a 3-on-1 Ottawa rush, Jarkko Ruutu and Mike Green got involved in a scrum in front of the Washington net, although both were only handed roughing minors.

Ottawa got a chance to climb back in it when Tom Poti was whistled for a minor with 12:52 left, but Washington didn't allow a shot during the advantage to keep the score the same. Backstrom then added his second of the period on a nifty wrap-around, as he broke in the Ottawa zone and got Leclaire to commit to the near side before catching him on the far side with 9:15 to play and sealing the win for the Capitals.

The red-hot Swede now has 13 goals in his last 17 games, and now is just five shy of his single-season best of 22 set last year.

Washington got one last chance with the extra-man as Kovalev was whistled for high-sticking with 5:24 left, and Semin nearly had a goal with just over four minutes to play as a Leclaire just got enough of a blast with his glove to keep it from going over the goal line.

But even after the penalty expired, Ovechkin got his first goal as Washington's captain, collecting a pass at the center stripe and breaking in on Leclaire and beating him high for his 27th of the season, bringing him one shy of the league lead with 1:26 to play.

Ottawa answered that tally as Cheechoo beat Theodore with :54.7 left to play, but it was too little, too late for the Sens, who couldn't repeat November's two-goal comeback against Washington and fell to 1-4-0 in their last five away from ScotiaBank Place.

The team heads to Atlanta Saturday to wrap up an unusual season series, in which the first half's worth of games were held at Philips Arena before the Thrashers make their first visit to D.C. this season on Feb. 5. The Caps then also play the Lightning and Panthers before returning home next Friday night against Toronto.