3 takeaways from Senators' 5-4 overtime win against Capitals

After the Ottawa Senators earned two important wins against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Utah Hockey Club this past weekend, they hosted the Washington Capitals for the second time this season after three days of rest.

The Senators fell in the first meeting 1-0 in overtime against the Capitals on Jan. 16. The second meeting would need overtime like the first meeting, but the result would be different

The Senators defeated the Capitals 5-4 in overtime at Canadian Tire Centre to improve to 27-20-4 on the season. With the win, the Senators have won three consecutive games and now have 58 points.

Playing against the best team in the NHL will always offer as a challenge. When the Senators were starting to break, they wouldn't break in the end.

3. At long last

Prior to this season, the Senators signed David Perron to a two-year deal. Perron's tenure began rough after he needed to step away from the team due to health issues with his daughter just five games into the season.

Perron returned in mid-November and played four games, then went on injured reserve with a lower body injury. Perron returned to the lineup last Thursday and went three games without recording a point. In the Senators' 51st game of the season and Perron's 13th game as a Senator, Perron at last recorded his first point as a Senator.

With the game scoreless early into the second period, Perron delivered a great pass to Ridly Greig for him to tip in a powerplay goal. The long wait for Perron to record his first point as a Senator is done, now the wait for Perron to score his first goal as a Senator is next.

With scoring the powerplay goal, Greig now has recorded goals in back-to-back games and is at 10 goals for the season

2. Shorthanded push

In the second period, Brady Tkachuk appeared to have scored a goal to give the Senators a 2-1 lead, but the goal was waived off for goalie interference. However, that didn't stop the Senators from making a push to score in the second period, even with a man down.

With 2:36 remaining in the second period, Travis Hamonic received a penalty that put the Senators shorthanded. Thirteen seconds into the powerplay, John Carlson tripped up Josh Norris and a penalty shot was called. Norris scored his 18th goal on the season on the penalty shot.

It would only take 38 seconds later for the shorthanded unit to score again. After Norris was robbed by Charlie Lindgren, Shane Pinto scored on a rebound to extend the lead to 3-1. A surprising 38-second span with scoring two shorthanded goals gave the Senators momentum heading to the second intermission.

1. Birthday boy comes through in the clutch

Jake Sanderson scored a powerplay goal to give the Senators a 4-2 lead with 9:22 remaining in regulation. After Sanderson's goal, Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strome each scored a goal in a 1:30 span to tie the game at four. Strome's goal to tie the game was his second of the game.

The Capitals had all the momentum heading into overtime after tying the game with 5:29 to go in regulation and still having quality chances to score against Anton Forsberg before the third period ended. For the second time this season, the Senators and Capitals needed overtime to determine a winner.

Scoring an overtime winner on a birthday would be a fantastic birthday present for any player. It would happen for Thomas Chabot.

At 1:46 of overtime, Chabot buried the overtime winner to cap off his 28th birthday. Chabot's goal helped the Senators win their sixth overtime game of the season.

The Senators knocking off the Capitals is another message the Senators can play against top teams. With earning three out of a possible four points so far against the Capitals this season, the Senators are continuing to make more progress.

The Senators return to action on Saturday night when they close out a four-game home stand against the Minnesota Wild. In the first meeting against the Wild, the Senators earned a big 3-1 road win on Dec. 29. The Senators scored three unanswered goals to earn the win.