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Oshie’s hat trick leads Capitals past Senators 7-5; Batherson scores three for Ottawa

Oct 25, 2021 | 8:27 PM

OTTAWA — T.J. Oshie picked up his fifth career hat trick as the Washington Capitals beat the Ottawa Senators 7-5 on Monday night.

Alex Ovechkin extended his point streak to six games with his sixth and seventh goals of the season for Washington (4-0-2). Nick Jensen and John Carlson also scored as Ilya Samsonov made 32 saves for the win.

Drake Batherson led the way for Ottawa (2-4-0) with his first career hat trick, while Chris Tierney and Josh Norris also chipped in.

Anton Forsberg started the game for Ottawa, but was pulled after allowing four goals on 16 shots. Filip Gustavsson came in late in the first period and finished the game allowing three goals on 15 shots.

Down 6-4 to start the third, Batherson made it a one-goal game with his third of the night at the six-minute mark, but Ovechkin regained the two-goal cushion with his second of the game midway through the period.

Trailing 4-1, the Senators came roaring back to tie the game, only to give up two late goals to trail 6-4 after 40 minutes.

Norris started the rally beating Samsonov from the right face-off circle.

Tierney made it 4-3 with a power-play goal midway through the period. Shortly after, Batherson displayed some great patience drawing Samsonov out of position to score the equalizer, for his second of the night.

Ovechkin regained the lead as he blocked a Nikita Zaitsev point shot and broke in alone, beating Gustavsson through the legs and with just 7.3 seconds remaining in the period Oshie scored his third of the night.

The Senators got the start they were looking for in the first period, but things quickly unravelled.

Batherson opened the scoring by beating Samsonov from outside the right face-off circle.

The Capitals then went on to score four consecutive goals in a span of just over nine minutes.

Oshie took advantage of some poor defensive coverage by Josh Brown as he scored the first two goals. Jensen made it 3-1 and Carlson ended Forsberg’s night as he ripped a shot from the left circle.

This marked the Capitals’ first road game against a Canadian team since Feb. 27, 2020.

Notes: Ottawa G Matt Murray was sidelined after taking a knee to the head Saturday against New York, while D Michael Del Zotto was a healthy scratch. The injured Austin Watson has resumed skating which is positive news for the Senators. Washington rookie Hendrix Lapierre was thrilled to have the opportunity to play close to home. The 19-year-old grew up in nearby Gatineau, Que., just over 40 minutes from the Canadian Tire Centre and took a solo lap in warm-up.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 25, 2021.

Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press