Vrana, Kuznetsov power Capitals past Senators
WASHINGTON -- Jakub Vrana scored two goals, Evgeny Kuznetsov had a goal and two assists and the Washington Capitals defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-2 on Wednesday night.
Alex Ovechkin scored his 14th goal of the season and Alex Chiasson had an empty-net goal and an assist. T.J. Oshie added two assists for Washington (12-10-1) as coach Barry Trotz got immediate dividends from shuffling his lines.
Braden Holtby stopped 29 shots for Washington, which had lost three of four.
With his top six struggling, Trotz reunited winger Ovechkin and center Nicklas Backstrom on the top line one day after saying he didn't feel like making the move. He filled out the line with rugged winger Tom Wilson.
It was the first time this season Ovechkin and Backstrom, long-time linemates during their careers, started a game on the same line. Oshie moved down to the second line with Kuznetsov and Vrana, who had his first multi-goal game.
Ottawa (8-6-6) dropped its fourth straight (0-3-1) and has only five goals in that stretch.
Ryan Dzingel and Mike Hoffman scored for the Senators. Craig Anderson made 20 saves.
Washington struck twice late in the first period.
First, Oshie fed Kuznetsov to the right of Anderson, who made the initial save, but Vrana poked in the rebound at 15:21.
Then in the waning seconds of the period, Ovechkin got behind the defense and Alex Chiasson sent him in alone with a nice pass. Ovechkin fired over Anderson's shoulder with five seconds left. Backstrom got the second assist.
Washington broke it open with two more in the second period.
Kuznetsov made it 3-0 on the power play. Anderson blocked John Carlson's blast from the point, but Oshie guided the rebound to Kuznetsov, whose wrister from the left circle made it 3-0 at 7:41.
Vrana struck again 2:14 later. His shot on the rush eluded Anderson and got stuck high inside the net, causing a delayed reaction to the goal.
Ottawa got on the board when Dzingel scored at 16:37 just after an Ottawa power play ended. The goal ended a multi-game stretch in which Ottawa was outscored 9-0.
The Senators failed to capitalize on a 76-second 5-on-3 advantage late in the period.
Hoffman poked in a rebound at 12:46 of the third period to pull Ottawa within 4-2.
NOTES: Washington is 8-0-1 in its last nine versus Ottawa. ... The Senators acquired F Gabriel Dumont on waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning. ... The Capitals are 11-1-1 when they score at least three goals. ... Ottawa C Matt Duchene remains without a point and is a minus-8 after six games as a Senator. ... Washington D John Carlson's assist gave him seven points (one goal, six assists) in his last seven games.