Hendrix Lapierre finally got off the schneid in the Hershey Bears’ physical 5-4 victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Tuesday night.
The Capitals’ 2020 first-round pick scored his first goal of the 2024-25 season at any level, beating Penguins goaltender Joel Blomqvist on a breakaway and giving the Bears a 2-1 lead 9:32 into the first period.
The tally was Lapierre’s first in 39 games combined at the NHL (27) and AHL (12) level and marked the first time he’s lit the lamp since Game 6 of the 2024 Calder Cup Finals on June 24. Later that night, he was named the AHL playoff MVP.
Lapierre also added a primary assist on Mike Vecchione’s second-period power-play goal, giving the French Canadian centerman his first multi-point game in the AHL in exactly a month (1/11 against Charlotte). He has eight points (1g, 7a) in 12 games since being demoted to Hershey.
“I think it’s good,” Lapierre said per the Bears. “I mean, my confidence has been good for a while, but obviously scoring that goal and I think [tonight was] more of a statement win, after going into Wilkes’ building last week and losing 9-0. So I think we really needed those two points and I think it’s a good confidence-booster for the whole team.”
Lapierre centered fellow first-round pick Ivan Miroshnichenko and Vecchione, the author of the team’s 2023 Calder Cup championship-winning goal, on the first line during the team’s victory.
“Well he was working, he was skating,” Bears head coach Todd Nelson said. “And when he’s skating, look at the goal he scored: he blew the doors off the defenseman on the outside cutting to the net. That’s Hendrix Lapierre when he is playing good hockey and he just has tremendous speed and skill, and when he wants to put the gas down, he gets after it.”
Lapierre has been in Hershey since December 29 when the Capitals activated Lars Eller from injured reserve. Lapierre won the third-line center spot out of training camp, but the Caps later traded for the veteran Eller on November 12.
Spencer Carbery cited the Capitals’ desire for Lapierre to receive heavy playing time as the reason they returned him to Hershey.
“Just with the way the season’s gone and the depth at the center position and with Lappy’s minutes, being in the stands, we felt as an organization it was best for him to get playing in Hershey, in the AHL,” Carbery said of the demotion. “Get his game in a good spot, confident again rather than him being here playing limited minutes or, for that matter, right now, being in the stands.”
In mid-January, Lapierre told RMNB that he was determined to force his way back to Washington and hoped the extra time developing would ultimately be a net benefit.
“I try hard. I care about this,” Lapierre said. “I try to get better every day, and I know that eventually, whenever it’s going to be, I’m going to get called back up. Hopefully, I’ll stay there, and I’ll make it worth it.”
