Senators blow 2-goal lead in final frame, fall to Capitals in overtime for 3rd loss in a row
Chabot, Sanford score in Ottawa's 9th consecutive loss in Washington
Alex Ovechkin scored his 28th and 29th goals of the season in the third period, Nicklas Backstrom pounced on a turnover to get the winner 1:13 into overtime and the Washington Capitals rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.
Backstrom also assisted on Ovechkin's second goal, which tied Chris Kreider of the New York Rangers for the NHL lead.
Backstrom then took the puck off a Senators defender deep in Ottawa's zone and beat goaltender Matt Murray with a breakaway backhand to give Washington just its third win in nine games.
Vitek Vanecek made 20 stops for the Capitals, who trailed 2-0 after two.
Thomas Chabot opened the scoring for Ottawa on the first shot of the game and Zach Sanford added a goal early in the second period.
WATCH l Backstrom's winner propels Capitals over Senators:
Murray made 30 saves but couldn't prevent the Senators' third straight loss overall and ninth in a row at Washington dating to December 2014.
"Give them credit," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "But at the same time, we left Ovechkin open in the slot twice, and he isn't going to miss those."
Ovechkin did the same with Backstrom's pass about midway through the third with a shot so firm it struck the inside bar and bounced out. Play briefly continued before the goal was given via video review.
"We just tried to be patient," Ovechkin said. "Obviously, it's not fun when you play two periods without a goal. ... You have to grind it out. You have to work hard and make a push. And that's what we did."
The Senators' nine-game losing streak in Washington was extended two days after taking a 10th consecutive defeat in Pittsburgh.
