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If the Washington Capitals miss the NHL playoffs, the Ottawa Senators will have played a part in that.
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Trailing the Detroit Red Wings (who beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 earlier in the day) by two points, the Capitals lost 3-2 in overtime to the Ottawa Senators Sunday night.
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A Jake Sanderson shot from the point 41 seconds into overtime stopped the Capitals.
The game meant plenty to the Capitals; not so much for the Senators, who were mathematically knocked out of this year’s NHL playoffs with a 4-3 loss to New Jersey Saturday.
On their second shot, 4:42 into the game, the Capitals took a 1-0 lead on a Max Pacioretty goal after his teammates outmuscled the Senators behind the net. It was the 21st time this season Ottawa had given up a goal on the first or second shot of a game.
The Senators tied the game 5:40 into the second period. Mark Kastelic backhanded the puck past Washington goalie Charlie Lindgren after a nice pass from Jakob Chychrun.
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Washington’s Aliaksei Protas scored with 2:50 left in the period after Senators goalie Joonas Korpisalo allowed a big rebound.
Ridly Greig tied it with 7:11 left, snapping a shot past Lindgren. The Capitals took a timeout to take a closer look, but decided not to challenge the play for offside or goalie interference.
RINK WRAP
The Capitals had a two-man advantage for 48 seconds early in the second period, but couldn’t put the puck into the net … Set up by a nice pass from Mathieu Joseph, Claude Giroux was robbed by Lind from in close midway through the period … Nice kicksave by Korpisalo to keep the game tied … The Senators peppered Lindgren with shots during a power play near the midway point of the third period … Senators defenceman Jake Sanderson had more than a 21/2-minute shift, most of it during a Washington power play, midway through the third period.
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ICE CHIPS
The game was delayed for a couple of minutes in the first period because the sun was shining in Korpisalo’s eyes, beaming into the arena through an open curtain … Longtime Capitals defenceman John Carlson was honoured for reaching the 1,000 NHL-game milestone. Carlson became the third player to play 1,000 games with the Capitals, joining Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. The next goal Carlson scores will give him 150 and pass Kevin Hatcher for most career goals by a Capitals defenceman … Ovechkin is one goal short of his 18th career 30-goal season. When he gets it, he’ll break a tie with Mike Gartner for most in NHL history … The Senators play the second game of a three-game road trip Tuesday in Florida.
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