The Washington Capitals have won their first two games back from the holiday and COVID-imposed break. The Caps went into Detroit and got a milestone goal from Alex Ovechkin on the way to a 3-1 victory.
Happy New Year!

- The Caps really did not play well in this game. They might as well have not shown up for the entire first period and the rest of the game was pretty slow as well. Two points are two points though. Should probably avoid getting out-chanced 9 to 1 to a team like Detroit in a period going forward. Their jump in the second period was good and they got a goal from their MVP to seal it.
- Big congrats to Lucas Johansen who made his long-awaited debut. He was the last player selected in the first round of the 2016 Draft to do so. LuJo also grabbed his first NHL point on Evgeny Kuznetsov’s goal.
- Alex Ovechkin did his normal GOAT stuff. It’s all in this post. Just bananas.
The all-time PPG leader.
Congrats on making more history, Alex Ovechkin (@ovi8)! 🙌
Add him to your #NHLAllStar Fan Vote 👉 https://t.co/JOMxUndKd8 pic.twitter.com/fiPvas6VvS
— NHL (@NHL) January 1, 2022
- Ilya Samsonov made 19 saves on 20 shots and improved his record this season to 13-2-2. He hasn’t had a ton to do in these two starts but hey, two more wins.
- Nicklas Backstrom has an assist in every game he has played this season. Typical.
- The power play scored. Finally. They have an even goal differential now since November 30. Woo.
Numbers thanks to Hockey-reference.com and NaturalStatTrick.com.