WASHINGTON — Alex DeBrincat scored the tying goal late in the third period and the game-winner at 1:31 of overtime to give the Ottawa Senators a 4-3 win against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Thursday.
DeBrincat tied it 3-3 at 14:26 of the third period when he took a return pass from Shane Pinto on a 3-on-2 rush and scored from the left face-off circle. He one-timed a pass from Claude Giroux on a 2-on-0 rush with Washington defenseman Dmitry Orlov chasing for the game-winner after Giroux forced a turnover by center Evgeny Kuznetsov at the Senators blue line.
“Yeah, [Giroux] did a great job kind of bringing them all together and just poked [the puck] right by them,” DeBrincat said of the game-winner. “He made a good pass too. So, it’s all him and I’m just there to reap the benefits.”
Video: OTT@WSH: DeBrincat nets game tying and winning goals
Drake Batherson had an assist on DeBrincat’s first goal to extend his point streak to 12 games for the Senators (16-16-3), who have won their past two games. Giroux had two assists, and Cam Talbot made 20 saves in his 400th NHL start.
DeBrincat, acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on July 7, has four goals in his past three games and 13 for the season.
“In any new system, it takes some time,” Pinto said. “He’s in a new spot and you knew he was going to start scoring. It was just a matter of time. He’s such an elite player and he’s just getting more and more comfortable and he’s just showing everyone what he can do. I’m not surprised at all.”
Alex Ovechkin scored his 23rd goal of the season for the Capitals (20-13-5), who had won five straight. Darcy Kuemper made 41 saves.
“I think we got away a little bit from why we’ve been having such a good month here,” Kuemper said. “I think it will be easy to recognize and turn things around. Not worried from that standpoint. Got to make sure we are better next game.”
Washington was outshot 16-4 in a scoreless first period.
“Kuemper gave us a chance, especially in the first period,” Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. “I thought he made some big saves and then he had to be on point all night for different reasons.”
Ovechkin gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 1:15 of the second period when he received a stretch pass from Erik Gustafsson at the blue line, skated in alone and scored on a wrist shot through the five-hole.
Video: OTT@WSH: Ovechkin rips the puck to score in the 2nd
Dylan Strome made it 2-0 at 3:37, scoring over Talbot’s shoulder from a pass off the right circle. Conor Sheary.
Jake Sanderson pulled the Senators within 2-1 at 8:30 when his shot from the point deflected off Gustafsson and past Kuemper.
Kuznetsov entered the zone 2-on-1 with Ovechkin, cut into the slot and scored to give Washington a 3-1 lead at 15:56.
“They got momentum in the first period, but I felt like we pushed back in the second period,” Kuznetsov said.
Tim Stutzle cut the deficit to 3-2 at 19:44. Giroux dove to block Trevor van Riemsdyk‘s clearing attempt and fed Stutzle, who skated alone on Kuemper and scored on a backhand.
“We battled back,” Sanderson said. “Thought there were probably like five minutes throughout the game where we weren’t ourselves, but we battled back, and we felt like we deserved this one tonight.”
NOTES: DeBrincat has at least one point in 12 of his past 13 games, with seven goals and 11 assists in that span. … Batherson has 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in his 12-game streak. … Senators defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker played 22:28 and blocked three shots in his return after missing 27 games due to an ankle sprain. … Gustafsson has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in a six-game point streak. …Washington center Nic Dowd won 13 of 19 face-offs.
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