Red-hot Capitals getting key contributions from more than just Ovechkin

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This article was published 22/01/2025 (316 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDMONTON – Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of the all-time goal scoring record has certainly been a worthy story, but a number of other guys are having either resurgent or career seasons for the red-hot Washington Capitals.

The Capitals won their fifth game in a row, defeating the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 on Tuesday, earning them at least a point in an NHL-high 11 straight games, going 8-0-3 over that span.

One of the players having a career campaign is Tom Wilson, who scored his 20th goal of the season.

It is the fourth time in Wilson’s career that he has hit the 20-goal mark, but his best season was only 24 in 2021-2022 and he seems certain to surge well past that benchmark with so much of this season remaining.

“You can’t take scoring goals for granted, it’s a huge privilege, and scoring 20 is something that is always a goal and coming into this league it’s something I wanted to be able to do at least a couple of times,” said the 30-year-old Toronto native.

“I’m playing with a lot of good players right now and this year they are finding me in good spots and I’m making it count, so I’ll take it when it comes.”

One of those “good players” is Pierre-Luc Dubois, who had a goal and an assist to put him at 38 points in 47 games this season as he continues to bounce back strongly from a tough year in Los Angeles last season, where he recorded just 40 points in 82 games with the Kings.

“When you have guys like (linemates Aliaksei Protas) and (Wilson), it makes my life easier as a centreman,” Dubois said. “Willy and Pro, they’re good players, they forecheck well, they make nice plays, they do a little bit of everything out there. Those two guys have been great all year and they were great again tonight.”

Goalie Logan Thompson, who was named the NHL’s No. 1 star for last week, made 30 stops in net for the Capitals as he continues to shine after coming over to the Caps in a trade with Vegas over the summer.

“You know what I liked, there were a lot of shots and people around him and a ton of traffic and the puck is moving around and it felt like he held his ground really well in the crease tonight,” said Washington head coach Spencer Carbery.

“Whether he was freezing that puck and getting through, he’s looking around traffic and those are not easy situations and there is chaos in front of him. Once again in true Caps fashion, he delivers when we need a big save and preserve the win and keep the one-goal win, he delivers.”

Thompson now sports an impressive record of 22-2-3 on the season, after posting a career best 25 wins with the Golden Knights last year.

“It was a lot of fun, I don’t think I ever beat these guys,” said Thompson of the Oilers. “It’s a lot of fun, it’s a great atmosphere, it kind of felt like a playoff game. It was a lot of fun, credit to the guys, we stuck with it and that’s kind of been the way the whole year. It was a huge two points to start this trip.”

It was the first game of a season-high five game road trip for the Capitals.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 21, 2025.