More History For Alex Ovechkin, The Logan Thompson Show & What Else Know From The Capitals' Dominant Win Over The Blue Jackets
The Capitals surged late for a 5-1 win over Columbus. Here's what to know.
For the Washington Capitals, the first two periods against the Columbus Blue Jackets were about surviving. Logan Thompson was a big part of that, keeping his team in the game until they were able to break out.
And, as John Carlson struck late in the second, the floodgates opened, and the Capitals made the most of it.
Ultimately, a four-goal third period, which included Alex Ovechkin’s 899th career NHL goal, helped power D.C. to a 5-1 victory.
Here’s everything to know from the win.
It was the Logan Thompson show from the moment the puck dropped. The 28-year-old was a force to be reckoned with, and as the Blue Jackets controlled the tempo early in the game, he stood on his head to keep things deadlocked at 0 and bail out the Capitals as they found their rhythm.
Thompson finished the night with 34 saves on 35 shots, and also picked up an assist. He’s now 5-1 on the season with a .938 save percentage, which leads all NHL goaltenders with at least five games played.
Alex Ovechkin’s still got it. He picked up his second of the season off a clean face-off win from Dylan Strome, marking his 899th career NHL goal in his 1,499th career game. Ovechkin’s goal was also the 336th third-period goal of his career, tied with Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history.
He has the chance to hit the milestone of 900 career NHL goals on Saturday against the Ottawa Senators, and on the perfect stage as he’ll suit up for what will be his 1,500th NHL game.
Justin Sourdif had a breakout game at center, winning five of seven face-offs and scoring his first with Washington after banking in his own rebound off a breakaway chance. The 23-year-old has been solid through his first games with D.C., and has proven to be a versatile piece of the puzzle. He also got his first look at penalty-killing duties late in the first.
The Capitals power play took some time to find its footing early, but found its spark when it needed it. After Mathieu Olivier caught Declan Chisholm in the head with his shoulder, he was called for a major penalty, gifting D.C. a five-minute power play, and the team made no mistake.
Tom Wilson got on the board with his team-leading fifth of the season after scoring on a lay-up following a nice flurry of chances in front for Ethen Frank, and then later on the same opportunity, Connor McMichael batted a puck out of mid-air in for another PPG. It marked the team’s fifth straight game with a power-play marker.
Speaking of McMichael, Friday was the breakout night he was looking for. He who hasn’t been able to find the scoresheet much to open the season, and after setting up John Carlson earlier in the night, picked up his first of the year to get some confidence going.
As for Wilson, he now has points in all but one game and 11 points — the most on Washington — to open the campaign.
Carlson also had a multi-point outing to extend his point streak to five games. Strome is also now riding a five-game point streak.
Hendrix Lapierre continues to look comfortable on the wing and has points in two of his last three games since switching to the left side from center.
Aliaksei Protas also has points in three of his last four games.