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The Narrative: LT is Risen, That Hit and Doggy Style

Three things we’re talking about today when we’re talking about the Caps…

Posted on by J.P.
Apr 27, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Washington Capitals goalie Logan Thompson (48) makes a save against the Montreal Canadiens during the third period in game four of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

1. LT is Risen

If the Washington Capitals were a religion, then devotees seeing their long-haired savior go down on a Spring Friday only to unexpectedly rise on Sunday and lead them would be a parallel too apt to ignore.

But the Washington Capitals are not a religion, so fans just have to settle for a Willis Reed-light comeback from Logan Thompson and a 3-1 series lead. We’ll take it.

Thompson was perfect on the night at five on five, stopping all 12 shots he faced (16 of 18 overall), and allowing just two Montreal power-play goals past him, one that he’d be the first to tell you he should’ve had. He was both good and, more importantly, good enough – when you score three goals per night and allow two, you win games… that’s just math.

Thompson’s return was as triumphant as it was unexpected, and as unexpected as it was needed. And it certainly lifted Caps fans’ spirits.

2. That Hit

Hockey has a history as old as the game itself of romanticizing physicality and imbuing it with the power to change the complexion of a game. Fights, we’re told, can stem the tide of momentum; a crushing check can spark life into a team like a metaphorical defibrillator.

But that’s nonsense.

Except when it isn’t.

And in Game 4, it wasn’t.

When Tom Wilson leveled Alexandre Carrier six and a half minutes into the third period, the Caps trailed by a goal. They tied the game a dozen seconds later and eventually won by three. It was a seven-“oy” sequence:

The Habs were clearly rattled (literally and figuratively) in the aftermath, and a misplayed puck by the overworked Mike Matheson allowed Brandon Duhaime to tie the game. Ten minutes later, Andrew Mangiapane would rip home the game-winner against the makeshift defensive pair of Kaiden Guhle and Arber Xhekaj, assembled in Carrier’s absence.

Wilson, for his part, would go on to add an empty-net goal and spent the night playing hockey instead of taking bait and engaging in nonsense. He was credited with a team-high six hits. One of them changed the game.

Literally.

3. Doggy Style

Brandon (yes, that is his first name) Duhaime is… different.

“Goofball” stuff aside, Duhaime has been a valuable contributor to this Caps team all season, despite his very modest (career-high!) offensive output, particularly on the penalty kill.

In Game 3, Duhaime was, well, terrible. He took two bad penalties (it’s tough to be an effective penalty killer when you’re in the penalty box, just ask Nic Dowd), and the Habs scored on one of them. He was on the ice for two other Montreal tallies, including the game-winner… which went in off his stick. (In fairness, he had just hopped on the ice on the other goal-against.)

With Game 4 and Aliaksai Protas’s possible return looming and that Game 3 stench still lingering, I was talking with someone with far more hockey smarts than I’ll ever have about who would come out of the lineup to make room for Big Pro, and Duhaime’s name came up. The response? “Duhaime didn’t have one bad game all season, so I expect him to be very good tomorrow [in Game 4].”

Duhaime was every bit of “very good.” The fourth-line winger’s second and third career playoff goals (the game-tying tally discussed above and an insurance empty netter), five hits, three shots on goal, a couple of blocks and a plus-two rating. Duhaime was also on the right side of fifty percent in expected goals-for against just about every Hab he shared the ice with, including the top line. In Game 4, Duhaime may have been the best player on the ice:

via HockeyStatCards

Yes, Brandon Duhaime is different. And in Game 4, he was a difference maker.

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