Senators 2 - 3 Capitals
Final - OT
  for this game

Capitals get 1st win under Hunter

Dec 4, 2011 - 7:11 AM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Brooks Laich scored 12 seconds into overtime, lifting Washington to a 3-2 win over Ottawa on Saturday.

At the 16:45 mark of the third period, Milan Michalek jumped on a rebound and lit the lamp for his 16th goal of the season.

The tally sent the game into overtime, but Laich ensured the extra session would not linger. On a 2-on-1 break, he received a deft feed from Jason Chimera and buried the puck to end the game.

"Jason makes a good play," said Laich. "I was able to get one."

Nicklas Backstrom and Troy Brouwer also scored for the Capitals, who halted a four-game skid and secured the first win of the Dale Hunter era.

Hunter, who played in Washington from 1987-99 and also served as team captain at the end of his tenure, was brought in Monday after the team fired head coach Bruce Boudreau.

Michal Neuvirth made 32 saves in the win.

Erik Karlsson also scored for the Senators, who got 32 saves from Craig Anderson.

"We battled back to get the point," said Anderson. "It's frustrating to lose but you have to take the positive out of it."

Washington dropped its first two games under Hunter's watch, but started fast on Saturday.

Just 1:58 into the game, Backstrom barreled into the slot and put a high wrister past Anderson for a 1-0 lead.

But Karlsson answered less than a minute into the second, floating a wrister from the point through traffic and into the back of the net.

Brouwer received a cross-ice pass from Alex Ovechkin and beat Anderson with a wrister for a 2-1 Caps lead at 5:01 of the third.

Game Notes

This was the second meeting of the season between the teams. The Capitals won the first matchup, 2-1, at home on October 15...The Caps have taken five of their last six from the Senators...Boudreau compiled a 201-88-40 record with Washington.






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