Protas, meanwhile, had the shootout winner for the Bears on Saturday, and with the same stat line as Cristall, is on pace for 48 points in his first AHL season. He's playing a center role and taking on a lot of responsibility for Hershey so far, and it's a positive sign of what's to come for the 6-foot-6 pivot.

Also, what might have led to a two-person goalie scrum that had Linus Ullmark skate the full length of the ice.

Shane Pinto, Nick Cousins and Thomas Chabot also scored for the Senators (4-4-1), who are 3-1-1 in their past five games. Linus Ullmark made 12 saves. “A strong game from our group,” Senators coach Travis Green said. “I just liked our focus right from the drop of the puck. When you beat a team like Washington, you’ve played a good game.”

A tight game for two periods turned into a 5-1 rout for the Washington Capitals over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Good evening, everyone. We’re trying something new here at The Hockey News-Ottawa tonight as the Ottawa Senators take on the Washington Capitals in Washington, D.C. We’ll be live-blogging the game and sharing game notes,

The Washington Capitals have loaned forward Ethen Frank to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), senior vice president and general manager Chris Patrick announced today. Frank, 27, has recorded one assist in two games with the Capitals this season. In two games with Hershey, Frank has scored two goals.