Capitals Spoil Nothing on Ovechkin's Final Home Opener, Beat Penguins 5-3
Washington rode Tom Wilson's three-point night and a string of Pittsburgh giveaways to win the rivals' 22nd consecutive season meeting on an emotional night in D.C.
The night belonged to Alex Ovechkin before the puck even dropped. Days after announcing this season will be his last in the NHL, the Capitals captain was introduced last in Washington's pre-game ceremony — by his two sons — to a standing ovation. Then his team made sure the evening ended the right way, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 on Wednesday.
A frantic start, then Washington pulls away
Anthony Beauvillier scored just 23 seconds in, and although Bryan Rust answered inside the opening two minutes, Washington controlled the first period — Russian Machine Never Breaks had the shots at 14-4 after twenty minutes. Tom Wilson restored the lead from alone in front after a Kris Letang blind pass went astray, then set up Pierre-Luc Dubois early in the second when a Pittsburgh misplay behind the net gifted Washington the puck.
The turning point came midway through the second: Alex Tuch intercepted a pass at his own blue line and finished a two-on-one with Wilson to make it 4-1. Pittsburgh pushed back through Tommy Novak and a Nick Robertson deflection to get within one after forty minutes, but Ryan Leonard's third-period power-play goal settled it. Logan Thompson protected the lead late, including a breakaway stop on Blake Lizotte straight out of the penalty box.
What it means
Wilson finished with a goal and two assists, and Washington's forecheck turned Pittsburgh's defensive-zone mistakes directly into goals — the pattern that decided the game. For the Penguins, the night stung most for Sidney Crosby, who per the recap was on the ice for every Washington even-strength goal and finished minus-4.
The bigger story is the calendar: this is the 22nd straight season Ovechkin and Crosby have met, one shy of the record 23 shared by Mark Messier and Ron Francis. Every meeting from here is a farewell chapter, and Washington just won the first one.