The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets squared off in a battle of the NHL’s top two teams. Would the Caps deliver bragging rights for the Eastern Conference or falter in their first home game in a few weeks?
Cole Perfetti jammed home a rebound on a power play to open the scoring. Dylan Samberg clicked a point shot off Pierre-Luc Dubois’ skate to double the Winnipeg lead. Dubois found his own rebound goal to get the Capitals on the board.
Alex Iafallo responded with another deflected goal to put Winnipeg back up two. Taylor Raddysh snapped an ice-cold streak to bring Washington back within one. Josh Morrissey opened the third with a snipe from the slot before Tom Wilson responded with a net-drive tally.
Alex Ovechkin tied the game with a thunderous one-timer from the point. Morrissey potted another in overtime to end things.
Jets beat Capitals 5-4.
- There was one team on the ice for the first period, and it wasn’t the Capitals. The Jets just looked faster in every single way, and it didn’t really look hard for them, either. PLD had a good chance, but otherwise, Connor Hellebuyck could have stood still to make his other stops. Washington was stuck in their man-to-man defense, chasing the Jets cycle over and over again, shift after shift. Once they got the puck up ice, they were then too tired to do anything with it other than throw a muffin on goal and get a change.
- Good to see guys from the “Dot Com Caps” in the building. Many of those folks were involved in my first-ever memories of the team. I was a big Dainius Zubrus guy, maybe also some Brian Sutherby, Matt Pettinger, and Jason Doig.
- The Capitals always look good in those alternates. I’m of the opinion, as I’m sure many of you are, that the Screaming Eagle needs to be back in a big way moving forward. The script logo has gotta go and the Weagle isn’t a primary logo.
us looking at ourselves every time we wear these jerseys pic.twitter.com/aUWVGShA8n
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 1, 2025
- Much, much, much better in the second period. They got their game going, especially in the first 15 minutes of the frame, and arguably should have gone into the third with the game tied. John Carlson made a few brutal turnovers, one leading right to Winnipeg’s third goal against the run of play.
- Taylor Raddysh finally got on the board again, striking for the first time since November 30 against the New Jersey Devils. He was seemingly the only person in the building that knew he had scored until Ethen Frank saw the puck stuck behind the net’s back bar.
- Pierre-Luc Dubois extended his point streak to four games with a goal against his former team. PLD has eight points (5g, 3a) in his last seven games.
- Charlie Lindgren fell off the Capitals’ bench for the second time this season. I enjoy that he has looked like a beetle stuck on its back and needed help to get back up both times. Professional athletes, they’re just like us.
charlie lindgren pic.twitter.com/TxY4YxdcbB
— noah (@capsboybebop) February 2, 2025
- Another brutal turnover early in the third period immediately put the Capitals on the back foot, as Josh Morrissey converted to put the Jets back up two. Self-inflicted errors hurt more. Luckily, they didn’t just go quietly into the night, but this game could have looked a lot different if they had taken better care of the puck.
- Tom Wilson provided some momentum with his 21st goal of the season. Wilson is just three goals away from tying his career-high mark of 24 goals set during the 2021-22 season. Dylan Strome provided the primary assist on the marker, reaching the 50-point mark for a thrid straight season with the Capitals.
- Alex Ovechkin, goal number 877 to tie the game. What a rocket.
- What a game that was, eh? Just as advertised with these two teams. Love to see it.
Back on home ice #JoeBSuitOfTheNight pic.twitter.com/pDghO5QBhd
— RMNB (@rmnb) February 2, 2025
The Capitals will now be off for two days before hosting the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. They have just three games left before the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
