Capitals 2, Senators 1 .

WASHINGTON —  Marcus Johansson and Nicklas Backstrom scored goals and the Washington Capitals held off the Ottawa Senators for a 2-1 win Saturday night.

Capitals goaltender Tomas Vokoun had 33 saves in his third straight start.

Mike Knuble assisted on both goals for Washington, which has won its first four games of the season. This was the Capitals' first win in regulation.

Peter Regin scored his first goal of the season for Ottawa, which has lost all three of its road games to open the season and four of five overall.

Backstrom scored his first goal of the season at 8:47 in the first period to give Washington a 1-0 lead. Backstrom took a cross-ice pass from Alexander Semin and slapped in the power-play goal from the right side.

Johansson put the Capitals up 2-0 with a wraparound goal 12 minutes into the first. Johansson took the puck at the blue line and charged down the left side and came around behind the net to slip the puck past Ottawa goalie Alex Auld, who had 24 saves.

Ottawa got on the scoreboard with 25 seconds left in the first period. Regin shot high over Vokoun, who was sprawled on the ice after diving for a loose puck. Senators rookie defenceman David Rundblad drew an assist on the goal, his first career National Hockey League point.

The Capitals outplayed the Senators early, scoring the game's first two goals and outshooting Ottawa 14-8 in the first period.

The tone of the game shifted in the second period, as the Senators outshot Washington 12-4, but were unable to convert their chances.

NOTES: Capitals G Michael Neuvirth missed the second straight game with a lower-body injury. The Capitals recalled G Dany Sabourin from the Hershey Bears of the AHL before the game to be the backup goaltender ... Washington D Roman Hamrlik played in his 1,315th NHL game, most of any Czech player ... Ottawa D Sergei Gonchar left the game in the first period after blocking a shot and did not return. The team said he had a bruised foot ... The Senators return home to face the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Place (7:30 p.m., Sportsnet East, Team 1200).