3 takeaways from Senators' dominating 7-1 win against Capitals

On Thursday night, the Ottawa Senators got back on track with earning a tough 2-1 win at home against the Philadelphia Flyers. It was then time to get back on the road for one game against the Washington Capitals.

In three games against the Capitals last season, the Senators fared well with earning four of a possible six points. In a new season, the Senators dominated the first meeting against the Capitals.

The Senators defeated the Capitals 7-1 at Capital One Arena. With the win, the Senators improved to 4-4-1 overall on the season.

Tonight was the Senators' best game of the season with dominating the Capitals in their own building to spoil Alex Ovechkin's 1,500th career NHL game. One thing was certain, Charlie Lindgren and the Capitals' defense couldn't handle the Senators' offense.

3. Milestones reached

Since joining the Senators, Claude Giroux has climbed his way up in the NHL all-time rankings. Against the Capitals, Giroux reached two milestones.

Giroux recorded an assist on Drake Batherson's powerplay goal early in the third period which made the game 5-0. With recording an assist on the goal, Giroux passed Doug Weight for 47th all-time with 756 assists, and passed Darryl Sittler for 66th all-time in points with 1,122.

Giroux added another assist when Thomas Chabot scored a powerplay goal later on in the period, and Batherson then reached a milestone.

Batherson recorded a three-point night in the win. On his second goal of the game to make the score 7-1, Batherson recorded his 300th career point.

2. First line boost, eh

Nick Cousins had struggled in the first eight games of the season with recording just one assist and not much getting ice time. Trying to find first line offense, head coach Travis Green shook up the lines and inserted Cousins on the first line with Tim Stutzle and Batherson.

When some may have thought Cousins would be a first line liability, he got his chance to show he can provide offense in the second period. With the Senators up 3-0 in the period, Cousins found himself on a breakway after a pass from Stutzle.

Cousins delivered with a sweet backhand shot to beat Lindgren to extend the lead to 4-0 and record his first goal of the season.

Cousins hasn't been known as a first line player who can score much in his career. With the Senators trying to find someone to make up Brady Tkachuk's offense, Cousins delivered with a goal.

1. These two can't stop producing offense

Dylan Cozens has embraced the pressure of being a reliable offensive threat in his first full season as a Senator so far this season. Just 1:58 into the game, Cozens tipped in a beautiful pass from Artem Zub to make it 1-0 Senators.

Ottawa's powerplay was struggling lately heading into Washington. In the second period, Cozens boosted the powerplay with scoring his second goal of the game to make it 3-0. Cozens recorded an assist on Batherson's goal to finish with a three-point game, and now has six goals on the season.

Another hot goal scorer is Shane Pinto, who entered tonight's game with seven goals. Even if a goal isn't the prettiest, Pinto will find a way to get a puck into the net.

Pinto was driving the net against and was pushed into Lindgren by Jakob Chychrun. The puck went into the net. After a review, Pinto was credited with a goal, but the Capitals then challenged the play. The call on the ice stood as a goal and Pinto recorded his eighth goal of the season. The Capitals' unsuccessful challenge resulted in Cozens scoring his second goal of the game, and Pinto's goal turned out to be the game-winning goal.

Stutzle, Giroux, Zub and David Perron each recorded two assists in the win. Ten different Senators recorded at least one point. The Senators' offense made it easy for Linus Ullmark in goal, who finished with facing just 13 shots on goal by a skilled Capitals offense.

The Senators will return to action on Monday night when they start up their second back-to-back of the 2025-26 season when they host the Boston Bruins at Canadian Tire Centre. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

In four games against the Bruins last season, the Senators won three of them. Two of the three wins happened after regulation.