Washington Capitals

Washington Capitals

Despite a free-flowing, ultra-fast-paced first period, neither team got on the board. After also playing most of the second period scoreless, John Carlson finally blasted the Capitals into the lead with 1:41 remaining on the clock. Alex Ovechkin pumped his second of the season home from another offensive-zone faceoff. Justin Sourdif picked up his first Capitals goal just over a minute later.

The Caps shake off the Jackets and return home to face the Sens, Pro looks to build on last year's success and more in today's Caps Clips.

In the team's 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday, the Swedish blueliner skated a season low 15:01 of ice time. He took just four shifts in the third period, last coming off the ice after a 21-second shift with 7:53 left in regulation. Sandin is averaging 19:23 of ice time per game this fall and has recorded two assists in his last three games. Last season, he did not miss a single game, notching 30 points (4g, 26a) in 82 appearances.

He's a natural centerman. That's what he grew up playing. That's what he's played his whole life. He's been moved to the wing in Florida's organization for parts of his time in the American League, he can play the wing, but we think there's potentially a centerman there at the NHL level. And so I liked it a lot. I'm looking for any opportunity I can get him in the middle of the ice to see what that looks like.

The Washington Capitals' new Screaming Eagle third jerseys, which come in red, white, and blue, will be released on Friday morning, both online and at the club's team stores.

Check out our not-at-all-late season preview on the newest episode of Japers' Rink Radio, with special guest Corey Sznajder. [Rink] Tuesday night's win over Tampa was the result of an overtime plan executed to perfection by the Caps - at least according to their coach (who is pretty smart). [RMNB] It didn't hurt that Tom Wilson was driving the energy for the team, helping them to shake off a sluggish first and registering a three-point night for himself. [Monumental]

Like I said in the intro, the Capitals had a really sloppy start to the game, which saw them head into the second period down 1-0. They really flipped a switch at five-on-five after coming back out onto the ice, though, owning 18 of the remaining 28 scoring chances in the game and eight of the remaining high-danger chances. Total and complete defensive domination in the final 40 minutes, leaving a power-play goal against as the lone blemish. Good play-driving trends abound to begin this season.

"Nice, nice," Brandon Duhaime said of the helmets. "I have seen the jerseys, but it'd be nice to see it on players and see it live. That would be cool."

The Washington Capitals open the 2025-26 NHL season on home ice against the Boston Bruins, Wednesday night. The team enters the season off the back of a 111-point 2024-25 campaign that saw them finish atop the Eastern Conference. After winning their first playoff series since their 2018 Stanley Cup victory, the Capitals were then eliminated in the second round by the Carolina Hurricanes in just five games.