The Washington Capitals (30-23-7) officially return to action after the Olympic break. Despite a slow start, they picked up a 3-1 home win over the Philadelphia Flyers (25-21-21) on Wednesday night.
The Capitals were also without both the alternate captains. Tom Wilson was out with an illness, while John Carlson is still day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
The first period was tough, but Rasmus Sandin was able to break the scoreless tie in the middle frame and make it 1–0 Capitals.
After Philadelphia equalized early in the third, Trevor van Riemsdyk responded with the game-winning goal later on. Aliaksei Protas eventually sealed it with an empty-net.
“We know where we are in the standings,” van Riemsdyk said. "We had three weeks to look at that, look at the numbers and know that we couldn't afford any more losses."
Logan Thompson was also fantastic in his return after representing Canada at the Winter Olympics. On his 29th birthday, he stopped 23 of 24 shots.
Next, the Capitals will host Vegas in a rematch of the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals on Friday night.
capitals analysis
The Capitals were closed for almost three weeks due to the Olympic holiday and its impact was visible early on. For most of the opening period, the Capitals spent time in the defensive zone and were outscored 8–1.
However, that's when the Capitals started to click as they generated more zone time and pressure.
Without Wilson, Hendricks Lapierre came into the lineup and really made a big impact. He showed off his two-way game while playing on the fourth line with Brandon Duhaime and Nick Dowd.
Late in the middle frame, Lapierre found Sandin coming off the bench as he fired a shot over Dan Vladar. The Capitals broke the scoreless tie as Lapierre now has three points in his last eight games.
Noah Cates tied the score at 1–1 for Philadelphia early in the third, but the Capitals eventually responded. Declan Chisholm fed the puck to Van Riemsdyk, who buried it for the go-ahead goal with 5:52 remaining in regulation. It was the 34-year-old blueliner's second accomplishment of the season.
With less than a minute remaining, the Capitals got a late penalty kill due to a delay of game call on Nick Dowd. Still, the defense stood up and Protas sealed it with an empty-netter.
The 25-year-old has now reached the 20-goal mark in consecutive seasons. He also reached the 20-assist mark with his contribution to van Riemsdyk's game-winner.
However, it also helped that the Capitals got Thompson back in net. The Olympic silver medalist made some important stops and ousted the likes of Trevor Zegras and Matvey Mitchkov.
capitals report card
Team: B
The Capitals got off to a slow start, but eventually turned it around in the middle frame. The team got goals from two defensemen who don't score often.
Logan Thompson: A
Thompson accomplished the feat on his birthday with 23 shutouts. The 29-year-old's save on Michkov in the third was a turning point for the team.
Trevor van Riemsdyk: A
The 34-year-old defenseman scored the game-winning goal. It was also his second tally of the season.
Hendrix Lapierre: A
Lapierre finished with an assist on the Sandin goal and was very physical on the ice. A particular highlight was a big hit on Kates in the beginning.
Beauvillier-Sourdiff-Franc Line: B+
This trio proved to be very effective, as they created many chances and maintained the pressure.
