The Ottawa Senators played the Washington Capitals close on Thursday night. However, the Senators fell to the Capitals in overtime thanks to an Alex Ovechkin overtime goal. The game was more notable for Ottawa than the opponent or result,

It started with a trade between the Bruins and Capitals (and Wild as a third-party broker). The Capitals moved out two pending free agents, Garnet Hathaway and Dmitry Orlov, in exchange for a 2023 first-rounder, 2024 third, 2025 second and Craig Smith.

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The Capitals will look to keep trending in the right direction against Ottawa, as Jakob Chychrun makes his return for the first time since being traded.

The Ottawa Senators came close as a strong team effort saw them hold the Washington Capitals scoreless through three periods but were unable to secure the win as they fell to the Washington Capitals by a score of 1-0 in overtime.

Opening faceoff is at 7 p.m. ET and you can watch it on ESPN+ ( plans start at $11.99/month). Washington (29-10-5, in the Metropolitan Division) last played on Tuesday night and beat visiting Anaheim 3-0 as Logan Thompson stopped all 19 shots. The Capitals are 6-1-3 in their last 10 games.

It wasn't the most exciting showdown between the Washington Capitals and Ottawa Senators, but instead, a goalie duel between rising starter Logan Thompson and rookie Leevi Meriläinen. Then, Alex Ovechkin did what he does best: steal the show.

Ethen Frank added his second NHL goal as Washington won consecutive games for the first time since before the Christmas break.

In a game that kicked off a critical seven-game road trip across the country as the Pittsburgh Penguins try to climb back into a playoff spot, they rode an efficient power play and strong goaltending on Friday while shedding some bad habits to down the Buffalo Sabres 5-2.

Washington Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren practiced with the team on Wednesday for the first time since his upper-body injury on Friday.

The Ottawa Senators play their final home game before a three-game road trip tomorrow afternoon when they take on the Boston Bruins at 3:00 p.m. ET.