Hendrix Lapierre Reflects On Snapping 90-Game Goal Drought, Sparking Caps To Vital Win In Calgary: 'Faith In Myself, It Never Went Away'
Capitals center Hendrix Lapierre scored his first goal in nearly two years to help the Capitals end a four-game losing streak.
For Hendrix Lapierre, Friday at the Saddledome felt like scoring his first NHL goal all over again.
It’d been a long time coming for the Washington Capitals forward, who had gone 90 games and almost two years since last scoring at the NHL level. Back in Calgary, where he’d last struck on March 18, 2024, he found himself in front of the net with the puck on his tape, and made no mistake for his first of the season on Flames goaltender Devin Cooley to lift all the weight off his shoulders.
“Good test of patience,” Lapierre told reporters postgame in Calgary. “Obviously, it’d been a while.”
It was an elating moment for Lapierre, but even moreso for his teammates, who clobbered him against the boards in celebration as the bench came to life.
“I love these guys to death,” Lapierre said of the celebration. “I’ve said it a lot, I consider myself very lucky to go to battle with these guys pretty much every other day. shows the friendship of our group and how everyone is tight.”
It was ultimately the spark that the sliding Capitals had needed, as it set the tone for a dominant final 40 minutes of play and eventual 3-1 win over the Flames that snapped a four-game losing streak.
“He’s such a good kid and he’s such a good person,” Tom Wilson said of Lapierre finally finding twine. “Not once did he come to the rink and be frustrated or take anything away from the team. Just a really good kid, he stuck with it and it’s a huge goal for us at this point in the season… just an awesome person, the guys love him.”
“It was big emotional boost for everyone. If you look at the bench, it says everything,” Aliaksei Protas noted, adding, “When we really needed it, he stepped in and scored. We were so happy for him.”
For Lapierre, it was also the breakthrough he needed, as he was rewarded with more ice time and also given the opportunity to play later in the game and defend the lead late.
It was something that coach Spencer Carbery was happy to provide, with Lapierre having put in the work and finally getting rewarded.
“Guys were going nuts… Lappy works so hard and he cares so much and he’s such a great teammate. Every guy in there pulls for him and is doing everything they can to help him be successful on the ice,” Carbery explained. “For that to come to fruition tonight and for him to score a goal, guys were ecstatic.”
It’s a step in the right direction for the 23-year-old, who is confident that he can build on Friday’s showing.
“Faith in myself, it never went away. I know what I can do in this league,” Lapierre said, adding, “I trust the work that I put in on a daily basis. Again, it feels good to get one, just got to keep going with the consistency now.”