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| Capitals finally start fast and hold on to beat Senators, 4-2 | Capitals finally start fast and hold on to beat Senators, 4-2 |
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| OTTAWA — Apparently fed up with talk of slow starts and stumbles, the Washington Capitals scored the first goal against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday night. And then they continued to pour it on in the first period, as if each tally could exorcise the demons of the past month. | OTTAWA — Apparently fed up with talk of slow starts and stumbles, the Washington Capitals scored the first goal against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday night. And then they continued to pour it on in the first period, as if each tally could exorcise the demons of the past month. |
| The Capitals beat the Senators, 4-2, to clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference and the Metropolitan Division crown. After allowing the first goal in seven of their previous eight games, Washington had a 3-0 lead after the first period. | |
| What came next wasn’t so nice, though, despite the result. The Capitals were unhappy with what they considered sloppy play in the second and third periods. The Senators got a goal in the second period and made the Capitals sweat late, scoring with their goalie pulled to make it a one-goal game with 93 seconds left. But T.J. Oshie’s empty-netter ended the drama and ensured the division title. | |
| [Capitals tinker with forward lines] | |
| A locker room that should have been celebrating was still frustrated that inconsistent play persists. With 10 games left and nothing to play for, fixing that is now the focus before the playoffs. | |
| “It’s nice to be a No. 1 seed in the East, but at the same time, it doesn’t really matter, to be honest with you,” Nicklas Backstrom said. “I mean, it’s nice to start at home, but it’s so tough. We’ve seen many times before that the No. 8 seed is as good as the No. 1 seed. . . . We have 10 really important games. We haven’t played our best hockey since after Christmas, so we have some areas we have to get better on and make sure we play a full 60-minute game.” | |
| This game wasn’t perfect, but it was a positive step after the Capitals were thoroughly outplayed in a 6-2 loss to the Penguins on Sunday. The locker room in Pittsburgh was somber afterward, and the comments were a mix of wanting to move on and also learn from the drubbing. | |
| [Barry Trotz says it’s okay to have kids in the locker room] | |
| The takeaway was that the Penguins were still in a playoff race, feeling an urgency to win and rise in the standings. The Capitals, dominant all season with such a large points lead, couldn’t manufacture that. But there was also concern that they wouldn’t be able to return to their previous form at a moment’s notice once the playoffs began. | The takeaway was that the Penguins were still in a playoff race, feeling an urgency to win and rise in the standings. The Capitals, dominant all season with such a large points lead, couldn’t manufacture that. But there was also concern that they wouldn’t be able to return to their previous form at a moment’s notice once the playoffs began. |
| “We know we haven’t played as well as we’ve needed to,” Capitals Coach Barry Trotz said. “We’ve got some work to do, there’s no question. But we haven’t played a real meaningful game for a while here.” | |
| In an impressive season, Washington’s ability to bounce back from losses is arguably the biggest reason for its 52-15-5 record and 109 points. Entering Tuesday, the Capitals were 13-0-1 in games following a regulation loss, and they still have yet to suffer consecutive regulation losses. | In an impressive season, Washington’s ability to bounce back from losses is arguably the biggest reason for its 52-15-5 record and 109 points. Entering Tuesday, the Capitals were 13-0-1 in games following a regulation loss, and they still have yet to suffer consecutive regulation losses. |
| The scoring started early. Senators forward Bobby Ryan had a turnover just before the blue line in Washington’s offensive zone, and Tom Wilson got to the puck first, flicking it to Mike Richards. Richards had been left all alone in front of Ottawa’s net, and he turned and shot at Craig Anderson’s pad, forcing the puck up and over with a forceful jab. | The scoring started early. Senators forward Bobby Ryan had a turnover just before the blue line in Washington’s offensive zone, and Tom Wilson got to the puck first, flicking it to Mike Richards. Richards had been left all alone in front of Ottawa’s net, and he turned and shot at Craig Anderson’s pad, forcing the puck up and over with a forceful jab. |
| The 1-0 lead came 2 minutes 32 seconds into the game, the Capitals’ fastest goal to start a game since Dec. 12 at Tampa Bay. About 10 minutes later, Washington got a power play and broke an 0-for-9 slump on the man advantage as Alex Ovechkin completed a tic-tac-toe sequence by sneaking up on the left side of the goal and snapping the puck past Anderson for a 2-0 lead. | |
| Backstrom added a goal in the final five minutes, giving the Capitals a three-goal first-period lead. But then Washington had just four shots on goal in the second period and allowed the Senators to creep back into the game. | |
| “First period, we played great and scored three goals,” Ovechkin said. “After that, we stopped playing.” | |
| The Capitals hope that’s not the same arc this season will have had when it’s over. | |