Washington Capitals grab first win behind Ovechkin milestone

Alexander Ovechkin’s milestone assists powered the Washington Capitals to a 4-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights at Capital One Arena on Tuesday night. Washington’s captain assisted on two second-period goals that kickstarted a quick three-goal run that punctured the armor of the previously undefeated Golden Knights.  

Washington earns their first victory in their 50th Anniversary season improving to 1-1-0 on the season. The Caps grabbed their first two standings points moving from the basement to the 6th spot in the Metropolitan Division standings after only just two games. The New Jersey Devils lead the Metro at 4-2-0 after six games totaling eight points in the standings table. 

Game story vs. Vegas (10/15/24)

Jakub Vrana opened the scoring six minutes into the first period in Washington on a helper from Andrew Mangiapane. It was the first goal of the season for Vrana who signed with the Capitals just before the season opened. Vegas’ forward Victor Olofsson tied the game a few minutes before the first intermission break. 

Washington Capitals superstar must have had a top-notch can of Coca-Cola at the break as the Captain performed some early second-period wizardry to help Washington regain the lead. Ovechkin assisted on Tom Wilson’s powerplay goal at 3:06. Two minutes later, Ovechkin set up Aliaksei Protas from the slot for a 3-1 lead. The assist was the 700th NHL career in Alexander Ovechkin, who immediately dashed to grab the puck keenly aware of the NHL history that just occurred. Defenseman Jakob Chychrun continued the DMV party 57 seconds later to extend the Washington lead to 4-1 on his first goal as a Capital blueliner. Vegas superstar Jack Eichel played party pooper scoring just 1:04 after Chychrun’s tally. There was no scoring in the final regulation period despite Washington taking two penalties. 

Former Vegas goalie, Logan Thompson, started Tuesday’s game for the Washington Capitals. Thompson started in 95 games and appeared in over 100 Golden Knights contests over his first three NHL seasons. The 6-foot-4 netminder was excellent in stopping 24-of-26 shots from a high-caliber Vegas offensive attack. Thompson holds a 2.02 goals against average and a 92% save rate following the win. 

Three Stars for the Washington Capitals

With the Washington Capitals having swept the Three Stars of the Game, the list will be familiar to ones found elsewhere.  Alex Ovechkin earns top honors after skating 16:55 with 2 assists, a team-leading 6 shots on goal, and a +1 at the end of his night.  Jakob Chychryn earned the second star of the game behind a goal and a +3 rating on the night. Chychryn was an important part of the defensive effort that stymied the potent Golden Knights offense.  Chychryn was acquired from the Ottawa Senators in a bold offseason trade sending blueliner Nick Jensen and a 2026 third-round draft choice to Ottawa. 

Logan Thompson gets the third star for providing stability in the net on Tuesday night. Vegas entered the night averaging 5 goals per game over their first three games. Thompson conceded only two goals overall, and none in the third period to secure the Caps’ first win of the season. Like Chychryn, Thompson was acquired in the offseason by General Manager Chris Patrick. The goaltender arrived from the Vegas Golden Knights for  2024 and 2025 third-round draft selections.