Going into the break on a high note: numbers for the morning after

The Washington Capitals are headed into the NHL’s break for the 2026 Winter Olympics as winners. In their final game before the pause in play, the Capitals were 4-2 victors over the Nashville Predators.

Good way to end this portion of the schedule. Hopefully, some of the roster gets some good rest because they’ll need it for the brutal stretch run.

• As Spencer Carbery pointed out postgame, the Capitals really did not have a good night when it comes to controlling five-on-five play. They gave up way too many easy chances to the Predators, only being bailed out by their star netminder. Nashville ended the night up 47-38 in shot attempts, 31-17 in scoring chances, 17-11 in high-danger chances, and 2.99-2.18 in expected goals. Gotta be better than that on home ice, but two points are two points at this stage.
• Logan Thompson was incredible in his final start before heading to Italy. The 28-year-old backstop made 27 stops on 29 shots faced, and per MoneyPuck, saved 1.63 more goals than expected. If Hockey Canada is smart, Jordan Binnington doesn’t touch the net unless Thompson falters.
• Jakob Chychrun, a big Canadian Olympic snub, showed what he could have brought to the ice for the Canadians and then some on Thursday night. Chychrun scored twice, added an assist, recorded seven shots on goal, drew a penalty, and blocked two shots. His first marker was his 20th goal of the season, giving him back-to-back 20-goal campaigns for the first time in his career. He is the second defenseman in franchise history to hit 20 in two consecutive seasons, joining Larry Murphy, who did so in 1985-86 and 1986-87.

• Pierre-Luc Dubois was great in his return from a 47-game absence. Outside of notching his first two points of the season (1g, 1a), the Capitals were right back to dominating play during his five-on-five minutes. With him on the ice, the Capitals posted positive differentials in shot attempts (+4), shots on goal (+7), scoring chances (+3), and high-danger chances (+6).
• Dylan Strome recorded his 30th assist of the season on Dubois’s goal. According to the Capitals, Strome has reached the 30-assist mark for the fourth consecutive season and the fifth time in his career. Strome has 14 points (6g, 8a) in his last 14 games.
• The Capitals head into the break four points behind the New York Islanders for third in the Metropolitan Division and four points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Islanders hold one game in hand on the Capitals, and the Bruins hold two.