Mike Condon perfect as Ottawa Senators shut out Washington Capitals 3 0

Mike Condon (Pictured) made 31 saves to pick up his fourth shutout of the season as the Ottawa Senators defeated the Washington Capitals 3-0 Tuesday night. (Photo: Mike Condon/ Facebook)

OTTAWA –Mike Condon made 31 saves to pick up his fourth shutout of the season as the Ottawa Senators defeated the Washington Capitals 3-0 Tuesday night.

Chris Kelly, Bobby Ryan and Zack Smith scored for the Senators (26-15-5).

Phillipp Grubauer made 31 saves as the Capitals (32-10-6) suffered their first regulation loss since Dec. 27 against the New York Islanders.

It also marked just the third time this season that the Capitals have been shutout.

A number of Washington players saw point streaks come to an end, including Alex Ovechkin’s eight-game run (4-9-13). Jean-Gabriel Pageau was on Ovechkin for much of the night and the Senators diminutive centre frustrated the Capitals captain all night long in front of 16,683 at Canadian Tire Centre.

Nicklas Backstrom, playing his 700th NHL career game saw his 10-game point streak (4-13-17) come to an end .

Trailing 3-0 to start the third the Capitals failed to create any real challenge for the Senators and were caught giving up a breakaway chance to Pageau shorthanded.

Ottawa’s special teams continued to be the difference in the game as Smith scored a power-play goal midway through the second as Smith re-directed Ryan Dzingel’s shot to give the Senators a 3-0 lead.

Ottawa couldn’t have asked for a better start to the game as they jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead.

Kelly opened the scoring with a short-handed goal at 1:46 and less than three minutes later Ryan made it 2-0 as he tipped Fredrik Claesson’s shot past Grubauer.

Prior to the start of the game the Senators inducted Bryan Murray into its Ring of Honour. Murray is the first inductee. His portrait is featured on a pillar in the 300 Level of the Canadian Tire Centre.

Murray spent time as both coach and general manager with the Senators and is now a senior hockey advisor with the organization. The 74-year-old made his NHL coaching debut with the Capitals in 1981 and spent eight and a half seasons with the organization. His 343 wins remain a Capitals record.