Takeaways From Capitals Win Over Rangers

The Washington Capitals were able to remain unbeaten in the Metropolitan Division with a 3-1 win over the New York Rangers at Capital One Arena. The Capitals offense was fueled by a pair who scored their first goal in a Washington sweater, as Timothy Liljegren and Boone Jenner both lit the lamp tor Washington in the second period.

“That was a hard game,” Logan Thompson said afterwards. “They came out hard tonight. They’ve been playing well, so I thought we matched them well, especially when they grabbed an early goal, and I thought we stuck with it, and stuck to the game plan, and good things happened.”

“It looked more like trench warfare down there with sticks and just no time and space at either end of the ice,” coach Spencer Carbery said. “Yeah, I thought it was a hard-fought game.”

New York struck first halfway through the first frame, but the Capitals were able to tie it on a long shot by Liljegren through traffic with 6:08 gone in the second.

Liljegren, who was appearing in just his 8th game as a Capital after being acquired from the San Jose Sharks at last year’s trade deadline, notched his first goal since Feb. 4 against Colorado with the Sharks.

“It felt good, obviously. I don’t really remember the goal, to be honest,” he said afterward.

It was the only goal Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin allowed, as he was injured on a broken play where his skate collided with the post and he was unable to put any weight on his leg.

“I hope it’s nothing serious, and I hope to see him back in that here soon, but you never want to see, you know, anyone go down with an injury like that,” Logan Thompson said afterwards.

Backup Dylan Garland came in, and Jenner scored his first as a Capital with 2:22 left in the second to put the Capitals in front. Jenner, signed as a free agent from Columbus over the summer, beat Garland for his only goal allowed of the night.

“You want to get that out of the way,” Jenner said afterwards. “The timing of the goal, it’s a big goal for us, at home, so one I’ll remember forever.”

But Thompson made the lead stand up, and Tom Wilson scored an empty-net goal with 0.8 left in regulation for the 3-1 final. Thompson moved to 3-0 on the year, making 22 saves and only allowing the goal to Alex Lafreniere in the first period. Washington concludes its three-game homestand Sunday afternoon when the Seattle Kraken make their only visit to Washington this season.

Carbery was pleased to get the two points and move to 2-0 at home in a big home stretch for the Capitals.

“The home games, especially early on, and it’s, I mean, to get to get points when, when it’s just, it’s still a little sloppy at times, is, is huge, because you can easily have these games go the other way, and now you’re, you know, you’re dropping crucial points early in the season. It’s a good time to grind out wins while you’re still trying to get all your lines, all your players on the same page, really clicking and finding consistency. amongst the group and getting your structure cemented.”