After the announcement on Monday that Alexander Ovechkin was going to play his final NHL season, the Washington Capitals got an emotional 5-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The night kicked off what figures to be a long farewell for the Capitals captain, with his sons introducing him as part of the team’s opening night festivities, with the crowd delivering a long ovation in his 22nd and final home opener.
While Washington was in control of most of the contest and forced the Pens into numerous errors, the Capitals made life a bit difficult on themselves with a lackluster effort after taking a 4-1 lead. But a Ryan Leonard power-play goal helped move the Capitals to their second win of the young season, and their second five-goal game of the campaign.
While the new-look Capitals made their regular-season debut at home to kick off the homestand, Logan Thompson was again stellar in keeping Washington in front down the stretch, moving to 2-0 on the season.
Thompson finished with 27 saves, many difficult as the Penguins pressed with 13 shots in the third.
Up front, the Alex Tuch-Pierre-Luc Dubois-Tom Wilson line was solid, notching three goals with Wilson earning three points, including setting up Tuch on a 2-on-0 with 6:46 left in the second to put the Caps up 4-1.
”They were outstanding tonight right from their first shift,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said.
”But Dubi’s line was so good tonight with Tuchy and Willy. And just did such a good job. Create turnovers on the forecheck, putting their D under pressure, holding on pucks, had multiple long O zone shifts. And against 87, So anytime you can do those types of things in that matchup, it’s beneficial to our team.”
On the downside, the Aliaksei Protas-Ilya Protas-Jordan Kyrou line was on the ice for all three of the Penguins’ goals, including two late in the second to make it a one-goal contest heading into the third.
”Little unlucky, Carbery said. “I don’t love the stat line, but don’t think when I go back through the film it will reflect it. … I thought their line was OK, I know they were -3, but I’ll have to go through the film and see.”
Washington also repeated their opening night performance of taking their foot off the gas with the lead, and making the score closer than they liked.
“We fell asleep a little bit,” Wilson said.
”Well, we just didn’t want to cruise to victory at 4-1,” Carbery said with a laugh.
”It’s a great learning experience for our group, especially the young guys,” he added. A 4-1 game in this league, you got them on the ropes. If you make multiple mistakes … you have to stop the bleeding. And that’s just what we didn’t do.”
But while the effort Wednesday wasn’t quite as good as the one in Raleigh, it was a good rebound for the team following a disjointed follow-up in Tampa.
Washington opened a stretch with 12 of 14 games at home with a 2-point effort on an emotional night as the countdown of the captain’s appearances in a Capitals sweater officially begins.
The Capitals, now 2-0 in Metropolitan Division play, face another division rival Friday in the New York Rangers, second game of a three-game homestand.
And an emotional night that saw Ovechkin introduced by his sons was something players won’t forget.
”It was a pretty cool moment,” Ovechkin said. ”It’s going be lots of memories and lots of fun when they grow up and going to watch it together. It’s pretty special.”
”It’s been such an incredible journey,” Wilson said. “Cool to see his kids down there announcing him coming out on the ice.
”He’s a legend in this city. I think everyone had a big smile. You get chills watching him come out. You just have to soak it all in. Greatness.”
