Last night, the Washington Capitals lost 4-2 in regulation, only the second time in 12 games, to the Minnesota Wild. Despite the loss, Alex Ovechkin championed a classy effort in honor of future Hall-of-Famer postgame. Washington still holds the top spot in the race against the Winnipeg Jets for the NHL’s Presidents’ Trophy, awarded to the team with the best record during the regular season.
Quick Strike Washington Offense in the First Period
Washington responded exceptionally well to Jon Merrill’s goal at the six-minute mark of the opening period. The Capitals scored a minute later to tie the score on Matt Roy’s goal. After Lars Eller and Taylor Raddysh worked the cycle game in the far corner, Raddysh hit Roy with a cross-ice pass for an open scoring opportunity to tie the game at one. Capitals’ forward Andrew Magiapane provided a net-front screen in front of Gustavsson as Roy fired a shot that sailed above the goalie’s glove and into the top corner.
Less than two minutes later, Brandon Duhaime scored his ninth goal of the season after Minnesota failed to clear the puck in the defensive zone. Nic Dowd sent a puck toward traffic in front of Gustavsson and forced the goalie to make a save. The rebound was kicked out to the slot, where Duhaime pounced and fired the puck past the Wild netminder for a 2-1 Capitals lead. Duhaime was drafted by Minnesota with the 106th pick in the 2016 NHL Draft and played 193 games with the Wild over three seasons before being traded to the Colorado Avalanche ahead of last season’s trade deadline for a 2026 third-round pick.
Ovechkin’s Classy Move to Honor Fleury
After the game, Ovechkin showed paramount respect to Fleury in what is expected to be the future Hall-of-Fame goalie’s final regular-season game against Washington. The captain beckoned his team out of the tunnel to shake hands with a goalie that the Capitals superstar knows very well. “It’s almost 20 years that we play against each other,” Ovechkin told NHL.com. “Pittsburgh, Vegas, it’s been an honor to play against him.”
Ovechkin and the Capitals overcame Fleury’s Golden Knights in a five-game series at the 2018 Stanley Cup Final to claim their only Stanley Cup Championship in franchise history. Ovechkin has scored 28 goals in 47 matchups between the first-round draft choices. It is the most goals scored and games played against any goalie in his career. Fleury was relieved that Ovechkin could not break the record against his long-time foe. “I definitely didn’t want to be the guy that was going to be on the highlights for the next 50 years getting scored on,” Fleury told NHL.com before the game.
Washington Leads Race for NHL’s Presidents’ Trophy
With a 7-2-1 record over their last 10 games, the Capitals are in pole position in the sprint for the NHL’s best regular-season record. Despite a one-point advantage in the standings, Washington does not control their fate after conceding the tiebreaker to the Jets following a road loss to them earlier this week. Washington has 103 points in the standings, followed closely by Winnipeg’s 102 points, with 10 games remaining for both squads. The Dallas Stars, currently at 98 points with 10 games remaining, could become the next member of the NHL’s Century Club tomorrow with a positive result against the Seattle Kraken.
