Basisphilosophie » on a play that started with Karlsson and ended

OTTAWA www.officialsenators.com , Ontario (AP) — Once a victory seemed likely, the Washington Capitals put their focus into finishing a memorable night for backup goalie Pheonix Copley.Copley made 35 saves for his first career shutout and the Capitals beat the Ottawa Senators 4-0 on Saturday night.Brett Connolly had a goal and an assist to give Copley all the support he needed.“We talked about (the shutout) between the second and third,” said Connolly. “It’s good to see him get that shutout. It’s obviously a big moment for him and he’s played so well this season.”Matt Niskanen, Jakub Vrana and Michal Kempny also scored for the Capitals (22-10-3). Washington is 7-1-0 in its past eight games and has scored at least four goals in 10 of its past 13.Mike McKenna stopped 29 shots in place of the injured Craig Anderson.Copley is the first rookie goalie to blank the Senators since James Reimer in 2011.“The guys did a great job blocking shots and denying them great chances,” said Copley. “It was a real good team win.”The score was hardly flattering to the Senators, but coach Guy Boucher wasn’t too disappointed by the effort.“It wasn’t a 4-0 game, that’s for sure,” Boucher said. “We played really well and had so many scoring chances and their goalie stoned us.”Washington took a 3-0 lead midway through the second when Vrana stole the puck from Mark Stone and beat McKenna with a flashy move. Kempny made it 4-0 at the 13-minute mark when his point shot deflected off Cody Ceci.The Senators trailed 2-0 after the first period, but it could have been more if it wasn’t for McKenna.Connolly opened the scoring at 1:32 when he redirected Jonas Siegenthaler’s point shot.“When we’re ahead in games we’re definitely better,” Connolly said. “We know when we’re behind we have a lot of guys that can hurt you as well, but when we get the first one we settle in and definitely on a back-to-back it makes it easier so it was good to get that first one.”McKenna made impressive glove saves on Andre Burakovsky and Travis Boyd. Bobby Ryan also stopped a sure goal when McKenna was caught out of position.The Capitals took a two-goal lead late in the period when Niskanen got behind Ceci and tipped Nicklas Backstrom’s pass for his fifth of the season.NOTES: With Anderson dealing with an upper-body injury, Marcus Hogberg was recalled from the American Hockey League’s Belleville Senators. … The Senators honored LPGA golfer and Smiths Falls Ottawa Senators T-Shirts Authentic , Ontario, native Brooke Henderson prior to the game and had her drop the puck. … Ottawa’s Tom Pyatt and Max Lajoie were healthy scratches. … Washington’s Tyler Lewington made his NHL debut Saturday night.UP NEXTCapitals: Host Carolina on Thursday night.Senators: Play at the New York Islanders on Friday night. OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — On the occasion of Erik Karlsson’s return to Ottawa, it was a former Shark who shined brighter.Mikkel Boedker had a goal and three assists, Craig Anderson stopped 36 shots and the Senators beat their former captain and San Jose 6-2 on Saturday, sending the Sharks to their fourth straight loss.The Senators have three former Sharks on their roster with Boedker, Chris Tierney and Dylan DeMelo.“It was a lot of fun out there,” Boedker said. “We played really hard as a unit I think. There was three of us in here playing against our old squad and everybody seems to rally behind that so it was a good feeling in the room before and definitely on the ice I thought we played really well.”Ben Harpur scored his first NHL goal, and Ryan Dzingel, Mark Stone, Magnus Paajarvi and Bobby Ryan also scored as the Senators won their third straight.Joe Thornton and Barclay Goodrow scored for the Sharks. Martin Jones made 21 saves. San Jose is 0-3-1 on its five-game trip, which ends Sunday in Montreal.“There’s no doubt we’re chasing the game Ottawa Senators Hoodies Authentic ,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. “I think there’s a little bit of a confidence issue when you’re losing some games like that. You might call it urgency. I would call it a little bit unconfident. We need to find a way to get that swagger back.”Karlsson was playing his first game in Ottawa since he was traded to San Jose in the offseason.“I had a lot of fun out there even though this was not a great game at all and I’m not happy by any means,” Karlsson said. “But it’s going to be nice to move on now here.”The team honored the two-time Norris Trophy winner with a video tribute during the first period.“There’s a lot of good memories that I have from this rink,” Karlsson said. “I was drafted here, spent pretty much my entire career here so a lot of positive things, so it was fun to see and I was happy I was able to play in front of these guys again and these fans and everything. They did a good job and I thank them for that. It was very kind of them.”While the Senators downplayed the reunion, they admitted it was strange to see Karlsson on the other side.“It was different,” Stone said. “What are we, 27 games in? I think it would have been a little different had we played him right away, but we’re pretty used to not having him around so it wasn’t that different.”The Senators took a three-goal lead at 4-1 with Stone’s power-play goal four minutes into the third period. Paajarvi made it 5-1, scoring into an empty net, with over five minutes remaining.Goodrow beat Anderson on a deflected shot in front to make it 5-2, but Ryan restored Ottawa’s four-goal cushion one minute later.Ottawa opened the scoring as Dzingel picked up his own rebound and beat Jones from a sharp angle for his 11th of the season in the second period.San Jose tied the game with a power-play goal on a play that started with Karlsson and ended with a wide-open Thornton for an easy goal. But the Senators scored twice in a span of 49 seconds to take a 3-1 lead.Harpur Ottawa Senators Hats Authentic , playing his 60th game, wristed a shot past Jones before Boedker beat the San Jose goalie through the legs.“It took me a while,” Harpur said. “It was kind of in the back of my mind. I’m not looking to score goals by any means, it’s not really part of my game, but to get that first one will be a relief for sure and I think I can play a little looser.”NOTES: Karlsson received a thunderous applause from the crowd of 17,531 during his video tribute, shown on the scoreboard at the first TV timeout. He acknowledged the crowd with a wave from the ice. … Justin Falk, acquired by the Senators on Friday, played his first game.UP NEXTSharks: At Montreal on Sunday.Senators: At Montreal on Tuesday.