Ovi scores three in win over Ottawa
Capitals winger comes up big in third period and visitors win 5-4 following shootout
OTTAWA — It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, but the Ottawa Senators won’t be happy with the way their season opener ended Thursday night. At least it wasn’t totally pointless. The Senators dropped a 5-4 shootout decision to the Washington Capitals as Evgeny Kuznetsov scored the winner in the skills contest, ruining a two-goal effort by Mark Stone, a three-point night from Derick Brassard and a solid effort by Craig Anderson.
While defenceman Chris Wideman also chipped in for Ottawa by beating Washington goalie Braden Holtby, a hat trick from all-star winger Alex Ovechkin and a goal by Brett Connolly sent the game to overtime in front of 16,529 at the Canadian Tire Centre — just short of a sellout of 17,000.
The Senators finished the game without defenceman Johnny Oduya and if he’s unable to suit up Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings, the hope is captain Erik Karlsson will be ready to play.
Ottawa didn’t help themselves by going 0-for-5 on the power play, including one missed chance in overtime where Holtby came up big.
Ovechkin scored his third of the night with 9:12 left in the third tie it up in what turned out to be a see-saw battle. Stone’s second of the game at 6:55 of the third only moments after the Capitals had erased a two-goal lead gave the Senators a 4-3 lead.
After pulling out to a 3-1 advantage on the strength of Brassard’s goal at 2:03 of the third, the Senators fell apart as Ovechkin scored twice in a span of 1:43 to tie it up 3-3 to make Ottawa fans nervous.
Following a long training camp, the Senators were ready to get down to business and they understood the Caps were going to be a difficult challenge.
“We have to trust that our players are ready to go emotionally, mentally and physically,” said coach Guy Boucher Thursday morning. “In the NHL, you’ve got to be revving and we’re meeting the President’s (Trophy) winners and we know how powerful they are.
“If we’re not our very best we’ve got no chance. The players are aware of that.”
The last time we saw the Senators they were shaking hands with the Pittsburgh Penguins after a disappointing double-OT loss in Game 7 of the Eastern final on May 25 at PPG Paints Arena. This game didn’t mean as much as that one, but it still meant a lot to the Senators.
“There’s a lot of excitement,” centre Zack Smith said before the game. “We had a long playoff run and it gave us a taste of what it’s like to be there. We want more of that. It’s exciting to get going. Camp and the summer are always long enough. The first game of the season is always exciting.
“We still have a lot to prove to people, apparently. A lot of people are still counting us out and we’re going to have to work for it. Getting off to a good start of the season is a big part of it.”
After giving up 22 goals in the final three games of the pre-season, there was concern how the Senators might look. When the lights turned on for real, they had moments where they looked as good as they did last spring.
The Senators took the lead in the second after Stone scored his first goal of the season. After good work in the zone by Brassard, who didn’t play an exhibition game while recovering from shoulder surgery, Stone fired it upstairs on Holtby at 6:52.
Tied 1-1 after 20 minutes, neither team looked like they were in mid-season form, with the Caps outshooting Ottawa 6-5.
It just feels like at times no lead is safe where the Senators are concerned. Only 1:42 after Ottawa took a 1-0 lead, the Caps tied it up at 8:07 after some sloppy play by the Senators in their own end allowed Connolly to go top shelf on Anderson from the right circle.
Not many people had Wideman to score the club’s first goal of the year but he got the Senators on the board on the club’s first shot of the season. He threw the puck toward the net and got a fortunate bounce at 6:25 to bring the crowd to its feet.
The night started with a ceremony to introduce the players and the staff. Karlsson received the loudest ovation when he skated out in full equipment.
There was a moment of silence for GM and coach Bryan Murray, who died in August, along with the victims of the Las Vegas shooting.