Ottawa fell 3-2 in overtime to Washington on Tuesday despite outshooting the Capitals after the first period.
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The Ottawa Senators earned a point but dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, even though they outworked, outmuscled and outshot the visitors.
Ottawa entered the game with a record of 11-6-2 and fell behind early as Washington scored on its first shot and outshot the Senators 11-5 in the opening 20 minutes.
From the start of the second period, the Senators controlled play, outshooting Washington 17-2 and holding the Capitals without a shot for more than 21 minutes.
Senators head coach Travis Green said he liked the way his team played. “I thought we played awesome tonight,” Green said. “It was one of our better games of the year.”
Green added that Ottawa’s defensive effort helped drive the pressure. “Thought we checked well,” he said. “We created a lot. Put a lot of pressure on the back end.”
Ottawa’s ability to generate offence has continued without starting goaltender Linus Ullmark, who has been out for almost three weeks. The Senators have gone 4-3-2 since Ullmark’s absence, with 27-year-old Samuel Ersson of Sweden playing a key role.
In the team’s recent stretch, Ottawa has also received depth scoring, including goals from Michael Amadio, Fabian Zetterlund, Ridly Greig and Nick Cousins over the previous three games. On Tuesday, Hayden Hodgson scored for Ottawa’s fourth line.
The Senators also faced an injury concern after Nick Cousins took a hit from Washington’s Jakob Chychrun, bounced his head off the glass and required assistance to leave the ice. No penalty was called on the play, and Green said of Cousins post-game only that “he’s not doing great.”
Senators captain Thomas Chabot referenced the difficulty of dealing with scenes like the one involving Cousins. “I think everybody hates these scenes in hockey and any sport,” Chabot said. “Obviously, you’re aware it’s part of the game, but it’s a lot more than the game of hockey, and it sucks seeing him like that.”
Ottawa’s lineup has been affected by multiple injuries through the first 19 games of the season, including absences for Jake Sanderson (eight games), Artem Zub (seven), Thomas Chabot (four), Warren Foegele (six) and William Eklund, who was lost after four games with a torn tendon in his ankle. Andre Burakovsky has also been in and out of the lineup, while Ullmark has missed nine games.
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