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The Narrative: Tom, Son!, Thompson, and Tom-orrow

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

Posted on by J.P.
May 8, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Capitals right wing Tom Wilson (43) celebrates with Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson (48) after scoring an empty net goal against the Carolina Hurricanes in the third period in game two of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

1. Tom, Son!

Memorable players have signature games, outings that in one way or another encapsulate what that athlete was all about that are remember for years to come.

Game 2 of the Caps’ second-round series against the Hurricanes was a signature game for Tom Wilson.

Wilson was the best skater on the ice (by GameScore and the eye test), registering a brilliant assist on John Carlson’s game-winning goal, an empty-net insurance tally, three shots on goal, two hits, two blocked shots, and 19:34 of total ice (most among Caps forward), including a tick under two minutes of spotless penalty killing.

But, honestly, that line barely begins to tell the story of Wilson’s night. It doesn’t include the diving, goal-saving defensive-zone breakups (of which there were at least three) and an up-to-but-not-over-the-line hit or two, nor does it reflect how he essentially resuscitated a second-line that was on life support after Game 1 and was able to keep Carolina’s top trio off the scoresheet for a second straight game at evens (although Sebastian Aho did register a secondary assist on the power play). And, as Wilson joked, it may not be a full accounting of his efforts:

Wilson’s Game 2 effort was the product of a frankly embarrassing team effort in Game 1, and Spencer Carbery acknowledged as much postgame: “When we don’t perform to our standard, it, for lack of a better term, pisses them off. It doesn’t sit well… then they take concrete action to fix it,” Carbery said. “That’s exactly what you saw in the last 48 hours with Willy.”

On a team level, this wasn’t Kuznetsov beating the Pens or Holtby shutting out Tampa (twice… in a row… from down 3-2 in the dang Conference Final) or Backstrom’s hat trick against the Habs or, well, any number of Alex Ovechkin games. But on an individual level, it was memorable and it got the Caps back into the series. Of course, ask Wilson and he’ll downplay his performance:

When George McPhee drafted Tom Wilson in the middle of the first round in 2012, he offered this prescient note:

“In the playoffs, we made a note after one of the games. It was to remember these games when we’re at the draft. Remember how intense they are, how demanding they are, how physical they are, and make sure we get someone who wants to play in that kind of stuff.”

via RMNB

They did exactly that and Tom Wilson continues to “want[] to play in that kind of stuff.” And we’ll certainly “remember these games.”

2. Thompson

The only reason Game 1 was much of a game at all was Logan Thompson’s brilliance. In Game 2, Thompson was even better, saving a massive 2.75 goals above expected (per MoneyPuck, 2.66 per GameScore… you get the point).

Thompson stopped 27 of 28 shots in Game 2, yielding just a power-play goal off an unfavorable (to the Caps) bounce, and now leads the post-season in both save percentage and Goals Saved Above Expected:

via MoneyPuck (and what rotten luck Carolina has had, running into two goalies with great save percentages. Surely it isn’t that they lack finishing talent…)

Thompson has been terrific through seven games, elevating his game when the Caps have needed him most, as evidenced by his .951 save percentage so far in the second round. Per NST, Carolina has an expected goal total of 8.4 through two games…they’ve scored three. Obviously, his efforts aren’t going unnoticed by his teammates…

…or Caps fans:

3. Tom-orrow

Time for a five-question pop quiz (stats via NST).

Question #1: In which first period did the Hurricanes register 11 scoring chances to the Caps’ three at five-on-five, Game 1 or Game 2?

Question #2: In which third period did the Hurricanes have a five-on-five expected goal for (xGF) total of 0.8, Game 1 or Game 2?

Question #3: In which game did the neither the Caps nor the ‘Canes score a goal on a high-danger shot, Game 1 or Game 2?

Question #4: In which game did Carolina post an all-situation expected goal total of four or better, Game 1 or Game 2?

Question #5: In which game did the Caps yield 70-plus shot attempts at five-on-five while registering 40 or fewer of their own for the first time all season, Game 1 or Game 2?

Alas, dear reader, I have pulled the very wool over your eyes and engaged in artful subterfuge, as the answer to all of these questions is “both.”

Chicanery aside, the point is that the differences between Games 1 and 2 probably aren’t as big as you think (other than in vibes, where the differences were enormous). To be sure, the second period in Game 2 was markedly different than the middle stanza in Game 1 (and, truth be told, the other five-plus periods in the series so far).

But Game 2 was essentially a less comically exaggerated version of Game 1, which is as much to say that Game 1 wasn’t quite as awful as you might think as it is to say Game 2 wasn’t quite as great as you might think. Both were winnable games, one was won.

Brandon Duhaime isn’t wrong when he said, “Just a better effort. That was more our game. Our legs were moving better, and we were making better puck decisions.” The Caps won more faceoffs and were first to more loose pucks than in Game 1 (low bar), won more puck battles (seriously, a worm could limbo under this bar) and recovered more rebounds (the bar was at the bottom of the Mariana Trench). But many of the things that weren’t where the Caps wanted them to be in Game 1 – zone exits and clears chief among them – were still there, for the most part, in Game 2.

That assessment isn’t pessimistic or optimistic, but realistic. Game 2 was better than Game 1, but it’s not where the Caps want to – or can – be and Carbery knows it:

“It was much better, there’s no doubt about that. I still think we have another level to get to, and we’re going to need to get to that level, especially going down to their building. … The way that we played, some adjustments we made, I feel like we’re getting there.”

Game 2 got the train back on the rails, it righted the ship and any other transportation metaphor you’d like to employ, but there is indeed plenty of room for improvement (on both sides of this matchup, by the way). Now it feels like a series again.

Bonus question: In which game did the Caps come out victorious, Game 1 or Game 2?

Class dismissed.

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