Capitals gain some extra jump from Cole’s big night: numbers for the morning after

The Washington Capitals are back in the win column after hosting the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night. The Caps used some new energy from Cole Hutson‘s NHL debut to power them to a 4-1 victory.

Folks, the future is bright. What a fun one.

• Overall, the Capitals weren’t fantastic at five-on-five, but they did enough to get the job done. There were certainly ugly spells in both the first and third periods where they needed a ton of help from their goaltender, but they have one of the top three goaltenders in the league, so they survived. The second period was their best, as they scored both of their non-empty-net goals, and finished the frame up 26-16 in shot attempts, 13-6 in shots, 14-7 in scoring chances, and 5-4 in high-danger chances.
• Cole Hutson was the star of the show and immediately showed why every Capitals fan should be incredibly excited for his future. Not only did he score his first NHL goal, but the team dominated with him over the boards. With Hutson on the ice five-on-five, the Caps posted positive differentials in shot attempts (+10), shots on goal (+6), scoring chances (+3), and high-danger chances (+1).
• Logan Thompson was phenomenal in net, stopping 34 of the 35 shots he faced. According to MoneyPuck, he saved 2.19 more goals than expected. He now ranks first in that category leaguewide.

• Alex Ovechkin also scored his 25th goal of the season, tying Gordie Howe for the most 25-goal seasons in NHL history. Ovechkin has hit the 25-goal mark in every season he has played except for the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season, where he scored 24 goals in 45 games.
• This game was the Capitals’ 69th of the season. Nice.
• The win doesn’t change much for playoff hopes, as those are still in the single digits and likely dropping as other teams keep winning. The Islanders have won two games in a row and are seven points up on the Capitals with a game in hand. The Red Wings, currently in the second wild card spot, are up six points on the Caps with a game in hand.