Capitals Hold on for 3-2 Win Over Oilers – The Hockey Writers Washington Capitals Latest News, Analysis & More

For the only time this season, Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals traveled to Edmonton to play the Oilers. Edmonton was without Connor McDavid, as he served game one of his three-game suspension resulting from his cross-check on Vancouver Canucks forward Conor Garland. The Capitals are first place in the NHL, and came to town riding a four-game winning streak, while not giving up more than one goal in either of those games, including two shutouts. That trend was broken, but the Capitals still extended their winning streak to five games with a 3-2 victory. They were extremely opportunistic and made the most of their limited chances. Here’s your game recap.

Game Recap

Edmonton got on the board first courtesy of Leon Draisaitl’s league-leading 34th goal of the season just three minutes into the first period. He received a pass from Darnell Nurse in the slot, and he went backhand, under the glove of the rare right-handed catching Logan Thompson.

Then, Tom Wilson tied the game at one for his 20th goal of the season 9:01 into the period. An Oilers turnover at the offensive blue line led to a 2-on-1 off the rush. Aliaksei Protas fed Wilson with a cross-seem pass, who made no mistake, beating the sprawling Stuart Skinner in the Oilers’ net. The game was tied 1-1 heading into the dressing room with Edmonton having a 10-3 shot advantage.

Related: Projected Lineups for Oilers vs Capitals – 1/21/25

Washington took the lead on a seeing-eye point shot from Matt Roy for his second of the season 8:14 into the middle frame. Protas was screening the Edmonton goaltender and the puck went right through the screen, and past Skinner. That was the only goal in the period, as Washington took a 2-1 lead into the intermission despite being outshot 13-6 in the period, and 23-9 overall.

The Capitals extended their lead on Pierre-Luc Dubois’ ninth of the season. Lars Eller took the puck hard to the net and his shot went off the post, but Dubois pounced on the rebound.

One minute later, the Oilers cut the lead to one. Draisaitl entered the zone and found Corey Perry who one-timed the puck for his eighth of the season. Thompson was upset as a fan threw nachos onto the ice prior to the goal, but the play wasn’t blown dead. Then, the Oilers had a power play with two minutes remaining but couldn’t find the equalizer as the Capitals held on for the 3-2 victory. Thompson was stellar in this one as he stopped 30 of 32 shots for a .938 save percentage (SV%). Skinner on the other hand allowed three goals on 14 shots for a putrid .786 SV%.

The Capitals continue their five-game road trip on Thursday (Jan. 23) in Seattle to face the Kraken. Meanwhile, the Oilers continue their six-game homestand the same day, as they welcome their division rival, Vancouver Canucks to Rogers Place. These two teams will conclude their two-game season series in Washington on Feb. 23.