Sometimes divorces end in happiness for both partners. That’s what happened with the Ottawa Senators and Jakob Chychrun, who are separately thriving this season, writes Alex Adams.

The Capitals will look to keep trending in the right direction against Ottawa, as Jakob Chychrun makes his return for the first time since being traded.

In goal, Logan Thompson and Hunter Shepard worked in both nets, with Charlie Lindgren not skating as he recovers from an upper-body injury he suffered in Friday's loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Lindgren remains on the IR, but Carbery said he’s progressing well and they will see if he can be activated Saturday.

But the Capitals were expecting the game to be “a little bit nasty,” as Coach Spencer Carbery put it after his team won, 2-1, in overtime behind two goals from center Pierre-Luc Dubois, who was at the center of the high-emotion proceedings throughout.

Washington Capitals left wing Pierre-Luc Dubois (80) celebrates his goal with center Connor ... and Washington Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun battle for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Washington.

Alex Tuch scored twice, JJ Peterka had the deciding goal in the shootout and the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Washington Capitals 4-3 on on Monday night.

This game started with some stupidity from both the Capitals and the officials. Pierre-Luc Dubois was called for a lazy hooking penalty on Quinn Hughes, which led to PLD getting frustrated and going right back at the Canucks’ captain with a couple of stick swings.

Pierre-Luc Dubois scored twice ... The Capitals got their chance with 13:22 left in the third, but Jakob Chychrun was unable to find the back of the net with a pair of shots.