Jagr overtime goal tips Caps over Senators

OTTAWA -- Jaromir Jagr and the Washington Capitals know the importance of every point in their push for the playoffs.

Jagr scored his second goal of the game at 1:53 of overtime as the Capitals beat the Ottawa Senators 3-2 Saturday.

"We've got 20 games left and every one is important to us," Jagr said. "We're chasing Carolina, we're chasing Montreal."

During a scramble in front of the Senators net, Jagr tapped the puck between the legs of Senators goalie Patrick Lalime from close range to decide the game following a scoreless third period.

"I watched Jags at the Olympics and he was playing with a lot of passion and fire," Capitals goalie Olaf Kolzig said. "He's playing that way since he came back."

Andrei Nikolishin also scored for the Capitals, who won for the fourth time in five games. Marian Hossa and Magnus Arvedson had goals for the Senators, who had their three-game winning streak stopped.

The Senators -- playing their first home game since the Olympics ended - are 7-1-3-3 in their past 14 games and have lost just seven of their past 25 home games (16-5-2-2).

"Tonight wasn't our best performance but we're playing a team that is desperate," Senators coach Jacques Martin said. "They have to win to get into the playoffs. We took one point and we have to get ourselves focused."

Hossa opened the scoring with 17 seconds left in the first period and the teams playing 4-on-4. He one-timed Radek Bonk's pass from behind the net past Olaf Kolzig for his 22nd goal of the season and his 10th point in four games. Jagr replied 12 seconds later, with five seconds left in the period. He swept down the right side, fired a shot from the faceoff dot and banged his own rebound past Senators goalie Patrick Lalime.

The Capitals took the lead 1:42 into the second when Nikolishin tapped Ulf Dahlen's pass from behind the net past Lalime. Arvedson tied it 2-2 midway through the period, racing in from his own blue line to beat Kolzig. Ottawa outshot Washington 32-29.

"We played well but you could see they really wanted to win," Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson said.

NOTES: Capitals right winger Peter Bondra missed the game because of the flu. Going into Saturday's game, he led the NHL in power-play goals (14) and was tied for 11th in goals. . . . Right winger Dainius Zubrus (hand), defenseman Calle Johansson (shoulder), center Jeff Halpern (knee) and right winger Stephen Peat (groin) also were injured. Rob Zettler and Todd Rohloff were healthy scratches. . . . Senators center Mike Fisher (shoulder), left winger Andre Roy (knee) and left winger Petr Schastlivy (knee) sat out with injuries. Defensemen Karel Rachunek and Ricard Persson were healthy scratches.