OTTAWA -- Braden Holtby hopes getting a scare from the Ottawa Senators will put the Washington Capitals back on track.

Sparked by a three-goal, first-period lead and 28 saves from Holtby, the Capitals stopped their road losing streak at three games with a 4-2 win over the Senators on Tuesday night at Canadian Tire Centre.

The victory was the 44th of the season for Holtby, who moved to within four of the single-season record set by the New Jersey Devils' Martin Brodeur in the 2006-07 season. It also clinched first place in the Eastern Conference for the Capitals (52-15-5) and allowed them to dodge what would have been their first two-game, regulation-time losing streak of the season.

However, it wasn't a completely satisfying win.

"That's what won us the game, really," Holtby said of unanswered goals by Mike Richards, Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, "because we weren't the better team tonight, and that was pretty evident.

"I think we're all kind of sick of the way we've kind of played at times the last couple of months. You can tell it's starting to turn. Everyone is realizing you kind of have to hit that bottom, and tonight you could kind of tell that's where we turn it around now."

Chris Wideman scored in the second period for the Senators, who cut their deficit to 3-2 with Mika Zibanejad's goal 1:33 from the end of the third.

T.J. Oshie's empty-netter with 12 seconds left ended thoughts of an Ottawa comeback.

"It was a tough night," Wideman said. "I thought after the first period we were pretty good, but they're the best team in the league for a reason."

The Capitals were not at their best, however, as Craig Anderson made just 18 saves in the Ottawa goal. Washington only managed only four shots on goal in the second period.

"I thought we played a little casual in the second ... turnovers," said Backstrom, who also had an assist. "We weren't as sharp as we were in the first."

Securing home ice in the conference playoffs was important to the Capitals, who are 28-6-2 at the Verizon Center. More important, they are aiming to find the stride they hit with a torrid start. Since Jan. 14, the Capitals are 19-8-2.

"It's great, it's nice to be the No. 1 seed in the East," Backstrom said. "But at the same time, it doesn't really matter, to be honest with you. It's nice to start at home, but at the same time, it's so tough. We've seen it many times before that the eighth seed is as good as the No. 1 seed. It'll be tough, but it's always nice to start at home."

The Senators (34-32-8) lost defensemen Dion Phaneuf to an undisclosed injury in the third. He will be replaced by AHL Binghamton call-up Fredrik Claesson for a road game against the New York Islanders on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Senators owner Eugene Melnyk expressed his frustration over the fact the team will miss the playoffs for the second time in three years, saying key changes will be made.

The statement did not come as a surprise to the players, nor did it affect their start against Washington.

"I've been around for two big changes when we miss the playoffs. I know the deal, I know what's at stake," captain Erik Karlsson said. "That's the way it is when you miss the playoffs in a market where you're supposed to make it. We're a team that should have made it, but that's something we're going to evaluate after the season. We've still got eight games to play, and we've got to play them hard. We've got to show we want to be here."

The Senators, who blew a 63-second, five-on-three advantage in the first period, went 0-for-4 on the power play. They have not scored a power-play goal in their past 10 games, during which they had 27 chances.

"I think it's building, it's getting up there," said Mike Hoffman, who assisted on both Ottawa goals. "To get one on the five-on-three would have been nice. You always want to try and take advantage of those. But we're getting shots, pucks to the net. We're just not getting the puck luck."

Capitals coach Barry Trotz said killing off the two-man-short situation was the key to victory.

"Then in the second, it wasn't very good hockey," he said. "It was a turnover festival for both teams. I thought both teams were turning the puck over left and right. We spent a lot of time in our zone and didn't get any shots. We managed it well enough to get the win and we move on."

The Capitals how hope that they can gain some momentum for the playoffs.

"We've been trying to get some focus for a little bit here," Trotz said. "We set out some goals. We're knocking one goal at a time down. We wanted to finish first in our division. That was No. 1. We wanted to see if we could finish first in the East. That was No. 2. The Presidents Trophy would be next. It's hard to win in this league. I don't take anything for granted."

NOTES: Senators RW Chris Neil was ill and missed his first game of the season. ... Senators D Erik Karlsson and C Jean-Gabriel Pageau are now the players on the team to have suited up for all 74 games. ... Senators LW Ryan Dzingel came out of the press box to replace Neil. ... Senators D Dion Phaneuf missed the morning skate for "maintenance" purposes and was a game time decision before it was decided he could play. ... Capitals D Nate Schmidt was scratched for the for the first time in five games but the fourth time in March. ... Capitals C Michael Latta and RW Stanislav Galiev also were scratched. ... The Capitals went curling on Monday, their day off in Ottawa.