Capitals score seven in win against Senators

WASHINGTON --Eight players had multiple points for the Washington Capitals in a 7-2 win against the Ottawa Senators at Capital One Arena on Tuesday.

T.J. Oshie scored twice, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Tom Wilson, Lars Eller and Brett Connolly each had a goal and an assist, and Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Dmitry Orlov each had two assists for Washington (36-21-7), which has won four of its past five games and is tied in points with the New York Islanders for first place in the Metropolitan Division.
Braden Holtby made 21 saves for the Capitals.
WATCH: [All Senators vs. Capitals highlights]
"We need everybody feeling good about themselves here going forward, so that's a positive that we got contributions throughout the lineup," Eller said.
Oscar Lindberg and Anthony Duclair scored for Ottawa (22-36-5), which has lost five straight and seven of its past eight. Anders Nilsson allowed six goals on 24 shots before being pulled in the second period. He was replaced by Craig Anderson, who made 12 saves.

"If you give those guys an inch, they'll take a foot and that's why they are the Stanley Cup champions," Senators coach Guy Boucher said. "They're a formidable team, and we know where we are and how far we've got to travel to get to that level. That's where it's at, so we know that."
The Senators were playing their first game without forward Mark Stone, who was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday.
Lindberg, who was playing his first game with the Senators after being acquired in the Stone trade, made it 1-0 at 3:16 of the first period off a cross-crease pass from Brian Gibbons.
Duclair made it 2-0 at 7:10 from the left circle on a power play.
Wilson cut it 2-1 at 16:57, tapping in a pass from Ovechkin at the top of the crease, and Eller scored 53 seconds later to tie it 2-2 on a one-timer from the top of the right circle.

"It didn't look like the boys were too interested to start the game, but a good response," Oshie said. "Not only the goals after we got down two, but I think style of play picked up. We kind of grabbed that game. You never know if they get another one where that one goes."
John Carlson gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead with a slap shot from the point on a power play at 2:38 of the second period.
Oshie extended the lead to 4-2 at 6:29, chipping in a rebound with a backhand, and Connolly knocked in his own rebound at the right post at 9:05 to make it 5-2.
"Too many turnovers tonight, and when you fuel that team and their offense, they'll make you pay," Senators defenseman Dylan DeMelo said.

Oshie scored his second goal off a tic-tac-toe pass to make it 6-2 at 10:33. The Situation Room initiated a review to determine if the puck entered the net in a legal fashion, and the call was confirmed after a video review.
Kuznetsov scored 17 seconds into the third period to make it 7-2.

They said it

"Mistakes cost us goals right now. We've got to learn. It's going to be like this the whole way. It's not going to be easy for us, any game now. We need to grab the wheel here and come together. We can't fold. We're not going to fold." -- Senators forward Magnus Paajarvi
"That was a pretty good push from us today, and that was exciting to watch our team play like that, (with) the enthusiasm, the buy-in, the excitement that now this is really our group. Today was the first time that you could feel it, that this is the group, and that we're all in this together and we're going to push." -- Capitals coach Todd Reirden

Need to know

Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki blocked four shots in 15:42 of ice time in his return after missing six games because of a foot injury. … Ovechkin has 10 points (six goals, four assists) in a seven-game point streak. … It was the third time in Washington's past five games it has scored consecutive goals within a minute of each other (21 and 36 seconds against the New York Rangers on Feb. 24; 20 seconds at the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 18). … Carlson (87 goals) passed Larry Murphy for sixth most in Capitals history among defensemen. ... Oshie is the second Capitals player to score at least 20 goals this season (Ovechkin, 44).

What's next

Senators:Host the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; TSN5, RDS, SNW, NHL.TV)
Capitals:At the New York Islanders on Friday (Nassau Coliseum; 7 p.m. ET; MSG+, NBCSWA+, NHL.TV)