WASHINGTON, DC — The Washington Capitals took big swings this summer, acquiring a slew of new players in an attempt to get younger, faster, and more offensive. Two games in, the impact of those moves was visible in the Capitals’ 4-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights as many of those offseason acquisitions contributed to Washington’s first victory of the season.
Jakub Vrana kicked off the night’s scoring, earning his first goal for the Caps in over three years. Andrew Mangiapane earned an assist on Vrana’s goal — his first point with the team — before Jakob Chychrun marked a first of his own with a goal in the second period. Meanwhile, Logan Thompson held strong in net, stopping 24 of 26 shots to beat his former team in his Capitals debut.
After a season-opening loss saw the Capitals struggle to find their footing, Washington’s new players have shown what they can bring to the table.
“It feels great,” Chychrun said on his first goal for DC. “It was a good play by Dowder (Nic Dowd) and it always feels good to get your first. It was exciting for me. The boys have been great and it’s nice to be able to contribute in a game that we really wanted to win.”
Seven players who dressed for the Capitals on Tuesday weren’t on last season’s roster: six new to Washington plus Vrana, who spent parts of four seasons in the District between 2016 and 2021 before rejoining the Caps this fall.
“It felt amazing,” Vrana said of his first game back. “Also, to get the win here tonight was great, celebrate with the boys after the game. Great day.”
Besides the milestones that showed on the scoresheet, the Caps’ new additions proved effective against Vegas’ offense. The team’s new-look fourth line of Brandon Duhaime, Nic Dowd, and Taylor Raddysh made a splash Saturday night: at five-on-five, the trio out-chanced the Golden Knights 12-1, held the edge in high-danger chances 5-0, and earned a staggering 89.96% of expected goals for — all despite receiving just one offensive-zone start.
But the biggest contribution among Washington’s fresh faces just may have been Thompson in net. Postgame, head coach Spencer Carbery praised Thompson’s performance, particularly as the team fought to defend their lead in the third period. Carbery highlighted saves against breakaways from Mark Stone and Alexander Holtz as key moments in the win.
“[Thompson’s game was] phenomenal, especially when it got to 4-2,” Carbery said. “Because we got a little helter-skelter, made two pretty big mistakes on that face off, the o-zone face off…so we need to correct those, but he stepped up big time.”
For Thompson, who joined the Caps in the first trade of his professional career, that win took a weight off his shoulders — especially when it came against his old team.
“Getting the first one under the belt is always the hardest,” Thompson said postgame, later adding, “I think our guys came out and played an amazing game and I think it’s a step in the right direction.”
With so many new players on the team, the Capitals are bound to face some growing pains as they get used to competing together. But if they can continue to perform like they did on Tuesday night, Carbery thinks that transition will be far easier.
“It’s important because it makes them feel more comfortable, right?” he said of new players’ performances. “When you’re contributing in positive ways, whether it’s points, hits, penalty kills, whatever, those things, they just help you feel like, ‘I’m contributing to the group,’ and it just makes you feel more comfortable.
“So the quicker positive things can happen for those guys — Dubois, another one — he had a tough matchup tonight against Jack Eichel. That line was matched the whole night, for him to come out five-on-five relatively positive in those minutes — you’re making yourself, as you come to a new team, just settling in and feeling more comfortable when you have those positive moments like a bunch of those guys did.”
