Washington 2, Ottawa 1

Nicklas Backstrom and Marcus Johansson scored 3:14 apart midway through the first period and the Washington Capitals held on for a 2-1 home victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

Mike Knuble notched two assists for Washington, which matched the franchise record by starting the season with four straight wins. Saturday's triumph was the Capitals' first in regulation.

Backstrom opened the scoring at 8:47 by converting a cross-crease pass from Alexander Semin during a power play. Johansson made it 2-0 shortly thereafter, beating Alex Auld on a wraparound.

Tomas Vokoun made 33 saves to improve to 4-11-0 lifetime against Ottawa. The veteran had lost his previous four meetings with the Senators.

Peter Regin scored and Auld turned aside 24 shots for Ottawa, which has lost 10 of its last 11 visits to Washington.

Capitals defenseman Roman Hamrlik set a record by playing in his 1,315th NHL game, the most ever by a Czech-born and trained player. He passed Bobby Holik for sole possession of top spot.

• Washington will play their next game at home against Florida . The Capitals have a W/L % of 1.000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
• Ottawa will play their next game at home against Philadelphia . The Senators have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .333 after a loss.