Ovechkin has 2 assists, Capitals recover for OT victory against Senators

OTTAWA -- Alex Ovechkin had two assists, and Marcus Johansson scored at 2:04 of overtime in the Washington Capitals' 3-2 win against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday.

Ovechkin (800 NHL goals) did not score in his fourth attempt to tie Gordie Howe (801) for second on the all-time list. Wayne Gretzky leads with 894.
"You just have to play through it," Ovechkin said of his drought. "If I was playing out there and [got] zero chances, yeah, I would be worried. But I have chances.
"Their goalie played good, and right now it's important to get two points and keep moving up in the standings."
Evgeny Kuznetsov had a goal and an assist for the Capitals (18-13-4), who have won three straight and eight of their past nine games. Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves in his first start since suffering an upper-body injury Dec. 3.
Johansson won it when he scored blocker side on Cam Talbot with a snap shot from the slot on the rush.
"I just saw that we were able to get a [line] change and they were a little bit tired," Johansson said. "Once I got it, I saw a little hole and figured I'd give it a run, and it was good to see one go in."

Drake Batherson scored to extend his point streak to 10 games, and Talbot made 37 saves for the Senators (14-16-3), who have lost three in a row (0-2-1).
"He was outstanding," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said of Talbot. "That's what you need on the nights where you run into stuff like this. That's a good team … I mean, that's one of the hottest teams in the League."
Alex DeBrincat gave the Senators a 1-0 lead at 4:50 of the first on a redirection of Nick Holden's point shot, but the Capitals tied it on the power play at 7:01 when Kuznetsov's centering pass deflected in off Sanderson's stick.
Sonny Milano gave Washington a 2-1 lead when he jammed the puck over the goal line at 5:25 of the second period.

Batherson tied it 2-2 at 3:04 of the third period when he redirected Brady Tkachuk's centering pass for a power-play goal.
The Capitals took four minor penalties in the third, but the Senators finished 1-for-6 with the man-advantage.
"It's great that we found a way, a different way, to get the two points," Ovechkin said. "It was a tough third period, but our penalty kill did a great job to keep us in the game, and [Kuemper] was solid today."

Ovechkin nearly scored No. 801 midway through the third when his snap shot from the slot was denied by Talbot's outstretched left pad.
He had six shots on goal and has 6,211 in his NHL career, which moved him past Ray Bourque (6,209) for first on the all-time list.
"It probably goes hand-in-hand, right? You've got to deliver the puck in order to be up there in goals," Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. "That's no surprise. Impressive, though. He could be tops of the charts in shots, goals and hits. That's pretty impressive."
Ovechkin will try for No. 801 again Friday when the Capitals host the Winnipeg Jets.
"It'll come," Laviolette said. "He's just got to keep doing what he's doing."

Senators forwards Tyler Motte and Rourke Chartier each sustained an upper-body injury in the first period, and defenseman Jake Sanderson also did not return after he took a shot up high early in the third period and skated off holding his neck.
Smith said Motte and Sanderson were each held out as a precaution.
"That was hard fought," said Tkachuk, the Ottawa captain. "(We) dealt with a lot of adversity today and (I) thought we handled it well. But we wish we could have gotten that second point. It's just how it is, and you've got to move on from it, but yeah, it's a gutsy effort by a lot of guys tonight with all those injuries."
NOTES: Kuemper is 4-0-1 with a 1.77 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage in his past six starts dating to Nov. 23. … Washington defenseman Erik Gustafsson had an assist; he has six points (four goals, two assists) in the past three games. … Capitals defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk blocked six shots in 14:10 of ice time. … The Senators are 0-13-2 when trailing after the second period this season. … Ottawa forward
Tim Stutzle
had one assist and three shots in 27:52 after missing four games because of a shoulder injury.