After laying a bit of an egg on opening night, the Caps have had a pretty decent start to the year so far – but tonight was easily the best game we’ve seen out of them in this young season, and perhaps well beyond that. They controlled play from start to finish, and were it not for Filip Gustavsson, the score would have been far more lopsided. Pretty great way to break in their new third jerseys for sure, and another solid win for the hometown crowd.
Plus: The Capitals’ play at five-on-five was absolutely dominant tonight, peppering Gustavsson with shot after shot while drastically limiting Minnesota’s firepower (although the Wild did score their first even-strength goal – courtesy of former Cap Marcus Johansson – since opening night). Four of their five goals were scored at even strength, and it definitely could have been more.
Minus: The power play was troubling until it wasn’t. And yes, something else was written here until the last two minutes of the game.
Our Star of the Game: Dylan Strome, welcome to the 2025-26 season! Strome scored his first goal of the season to kick off the scoring, then set up Alex Ovechkin for #898 before scoring his second of the season (and adding another assist in the final two minutes). Nice to hear “The Middle” echoing through Capital One Arena once more!