Game 64: 77-35-21-7 (PTS-W-L-OT) Streak - W1
Tue February 26, 2019 Ottowa Senators @ Washington Capitals
Place: Capital One Arena
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSWA, RDS2, TSN5
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Caps Radio 24/7
NHL.COM for Live Box Score
Last Game: Sun February 24 Capitals won 6-5 against Rangers in OT
Next Game: Fri Mar 1, 7:00 pm ET Capitals @ Islanders
 8-Ovechkin | 92-Kuznetsov | 43-Wilson |
| 13-Vrana | 19-Bäckström | 77-Oshie |
| 65-Burakovsky | 20-Eller | 10-Connolly |
| 62-Hagelin | 26-Dowd | 72-Boyd |
| 6-Kempny | 74-Carlson |
| 9-Orlov | 2-Niskanen |
| 44-Orpik | 3-Jensen |
|
| 70-Holtby (starter) |
| 1-Copley |
-- SCRATCH -- | 23-Jaskin |
| 18-Stephenson |
| 29-Djoos |
-- INJURED RESERVE -- -- 1st Powerplay Unit -- | 92-Kuznetsov | 19-Bäckström | 77-Oshie |
-- 2nd Powerplay Unit -- | 13-Vrana | 20-Eller | 43-Wilson |
Referees: Wes McCauley (#4), Ian Walsh (#29)
Linesmen: Bevan Mills (#53), Tim Nowak (#77)
SENATORS LINEUP Brady Tkachuk -- Colin White -- Anthony Duclair
Rudolfs Balcers -- Chris Tierney -- Mikkel Boedker
Zack Smith -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Bobby Ryan
Brian Gibbons -- Oscar Lindberg -- Magnus Paajarvi
Thomas Chabot -- Dylan DeMelo
Mark Borowiecki -- Christian Jaros
Ben Harpur -- Cody Ceci
Anders Nilsson (starter)
Craig Anderson
Scratches: Christian Wolanin
1st Period03:16 Senators GOAL Lindberg, assists Gibbons & Paajarvi 1-0 OTT
07:10 Senators PP GOAL Duclair, assists Ceci & Jaros 2-0 OTT
16:57 GOAL 43-Wilson, assists 8-Ovechkin & 92-Kuznetsov 2-1 OTT
17:50 GOAL 20-Eller, assists 9-Orlov & 10-Connolly 2-2 TIE
2nd Period02:38 PP GOAL 74-Carlson, assists 19-Bäckström & 77-Oshie 3-2 WSH
06:29 GOAL 77-Oshie, assists 44-Orpik & 19-Bäckström 4-2 WSH
09:05 GOAL 10-Connolly, assist 65-Burakovsky 5-2 WSH
10:33 GOAL 77-Oshie, assists 9-Orlov & 13-Vrana 6-2 WSH
3rd Period00:17 GOAL 92-Kuznetsov, assists 8-Ovechkin & 43-Wilson 7-2 WSH
FINAL: 7-2 WSH
By Isabelle Khurshudyan February 26 at 1:20 PM
When the opponent’s net is empty, Capitals have struggled to defend their own
The Capitals needed overtime to prevail against New York after allowing a late goal to the Rangers. (Nick Wass)
It’s a situation the Washington Capitals want to be in, a sign that things are going well. Any time a team is down by a slim margin, it will signal for its goaltender to skate over to the bench in exchange for an extra attacker. The next few minutes are chaotic, a skater-advantage that’s more cluttered than a five-on-four power play, and the desperation is ratcheted up. And while the Capitals have excelled at defending it in recent seasons, they’ve struggled in that regard this season.
When the opposition has had an empty net for a six-on-five, Washington has allowed eight goals, though the Capitals have ultimately lost the game just once. On Sunday afternoon, the New York Rangers tied the game with 31 seconds left in regulation, but Washington then prevailed in overtime.
“We’ve talked about it,” defenseman Matt Niskanen said. “What’s causing that is maybe up for debate; a few different things have happened. But yeah, we’ve talked about it.”
Coach Todd Reirden said personnel turnover has been part of the problem, with center Jay Beagle -- one of the league’s top faceoff men -- leaving in the offseason. Washington tried recently acquired winger Carl Hagelin in that situation on Sunday, and Brady Skjei’s shot unluckily deflected off the shaft of Hagelin’s stick before beating goaltender Pheonix Copley. Niskanen said the Capitals were in good position were it not for that bad bounce. Center Nicklas Backstrom and wingers T.J. Oshie and Tom Wilson are often used in those late-game spots, and captain Alex Ovechkin has even been out there in the past in an effort to score an empty-net goal to seal the game.
“We’ve tried a number of different players in that situation,” Reirden said. “We lost one or two key guys from that last year that were a part of it, that were on the ice in those situations. It’s been a little bit of an audition for that position, so ... I wouldn’t say we have had the same exact group doing it all of the time, which is something we have had in the past. Now, as we move into this last 19, 20 games of the season, we’ll be getting to more of our group that’s going to be used in those situations. It was an opportunity that was out there for some, and some took advantage of it and some didn’t. We’ll get closer to the guys we want to use in that situation now in the upcoming games.”
The Capitals’ penalty kill is ranked 23rd in the NHL with a 78.5 percentage, and because there’s less space to work with, defending a six-on-five should be easier. But “the desperation” can make it more challenging, Reirden said.
“The urgency level is way higher,” Niskanen said. “And there is more chaos. Usually the extra guy is around the net, so there’s a few different philosophies on how to play the situation. But yeah, it’s something that I think has been a strength in the past, and right now, it’s not.”
