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On Monday night, the Washington Capitals blew a three-goal advantage to the Ottawa Senators before prevailing 5-4 in a shootout. The Capitals scored twice to get Capital One Arena rocking early. Still, those same Washington fans sat on pins and needles as Ottawa tied the game on the power play to claim an incredibly valuable point in the standings. Capitals goalie Logan Thompson flashed a quick glove hand several times to deny Ottawa in the shootout as Dylan Strome sent the D.C. crowd home happy following the 5-4 victory despite no goals from superstar Alex Ovechkin.
Game Recap
Connor McMichael opened the scoring for Washington at 1:41 of the opening frame on a wrist shot that sailed past Ottawa starting netminder Linus Ullmark for a 1-0 Capitals lead. Less than two minutes later, Pierre-Luc Dubois doubled Washington’s advantage to 2-0 after a perfect net-front pass from McMichael was redirected past Ullmark. With 30 seconds remaining in the first period, Tom Wilson and Brady Tkachuk dropped the gloves to the roars of fans in Washington.
In the second period, Wilson scored less than two minutes after he was released from the penalty box from his end-of-period fighting major to establish a 3-0 Capitals lead. With the man advantage, Washington moved the puck around the perimeter, creating a seam pass from Dubois to Wilson for a one-timer goal at 6:53. With a goal, an assist, and a fight, Wilson secured only the second Gordie Howe Hat Trick of his career.
Related: The Gordie Howe Hat Trick
Five minutes later, Ottawa erased Thompson’s shutout bid after Shane Pinto tipped a Jake Sanderson pass behind the Capitals goalie to cut the lead to 3-1 with under eight minutes to play in the second frame. It was the first of three assists on the night as the 22-year-old Sanderson helped to power the Senators’ comeback bid.
Claude Giroux’s power-play goal 65 seconds into the third period reduced Ottawa’s deficit to one goal at 3-2. Sanderson moved the puck from the point to Giroux at the left-hand circle, where the Senators forward connected with a one-timer that provided hope for Ottawa against one of the Eastern Conference’s best squads. On the goal, Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle extended his point streak to 12 games and set a new Ottawa record with an 11-game assist streak.
In addition to setting a @Senators record, Stützle also extended his point streak to 12 games! 🎉 https://t.co/MT0hOHxkaF pic.twitter.com/gE6uFYSl08
— NHL (@NHL) March 4, 2025
Ottawa tied the game at 3-3 after Shane Pinto redirected a shot behind Thompson at 8:01 of the third period. Washington broke the deadlock on forward Martin Fehervary’s snapshot goal at 12:43 to restore the slim one-goal advantage at home. With under two minutes remaining in regulation, Dubois erroneously launched a puck over the plexiglass, which sent Ottawa to the power play. Tkachuk punched home a net-front pass from Stutzle with 68 seconds remaining to tie the game at four.
Brady Tkachuk ties it with 1:08 remaining! 👀
We’re heading to overtime, folks! pic.twitter.com/vwTl7RTBYi
— NHL (@NHL) March 4, 2025
Despite controlling most of the play in the overtime session, Washington was credited with one shot compared to Ottawa’s three. Strome secured Washington’s 39th win of the season in the post-game skills competition as the lone goal scorer for either squad. With the victory, the Capitals improve to 39-14-8 with 85 points to lead the Metropolitan Division. Ottawa is now 30-25-5 with 65 points in a very tight race for the Eastern Conference wild card playoff spots.
