The Washington Capitals are north of the border where it may feel warmer than it is in DC tonight. The Capitals will face off against the Edmonton Oilers in a matchup between two of the top teams in the league.
Alex Ovechkin, 20 goals away from Wayne Gretzky, will continue his chase toward immortality. But Connor McDavid will not suit up as he sits out his first game of a three game suspension.
The press release equivalent of 'this suspension was a horrifying act of violence ' pic.twitter.com/3jYCzu8adt
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) January 21, 2025
Logan Thompson will make his fifth straight start and oppose Stuart Skinner in net.
The Capitals-Oilers game is airing on Monumental Sports Network. Joe Beninati and Alan May will have the call. Puck drop is at 9:00 pm. Craig Laughlin is out due to a medical leave of absence. #LockerStrong.
Lines
Washington Capitals
Edmonton Oilers
Tunnel shenanigans
1st Period
Puck is dropped.
🚨 1-0 Edmonton Oilers. EDM Goal: Leon Draisaitl (34). Assists: D. Nurse (16), V. Podkolzin (13). Time: 03:02.
Leon Draisaitl, skating through the slot wide open, scores easily on his backhand. It’s his league-leading 34th goal of the season.
🚨 1-1 tie. WSH Goal: Tom Wilson (20). Assists: A. Protas (20), J. Carlson (25). Time: 09:01.
After a perfect sauce pass by Aliaksei Protas, Tom Wilson connects on a two-on-one and ties the game. That’s Tom Wilson’s 20th goal of the season, marking his fourth season of 20 or more goals. He’s on pace for well over 30 this season.
At intermission: The game is tied 1-1. The Oilers outshot the Capitals 10 to 3 and out-attempted Washington 20 to 10 at five-on-five. The Capitals’ three shots on goal continues their recent trend of woeful shot outputs in single stanzas.
2nd Period
Puck is dropped.
Skinner robs Brandon Duhaime on a one-timer 1:16 into the period.
Capitals get their first power play of the game after Darnell Nurse goes to the box for slashing Rasmus Sandin at the 5:45 mark.
Connor Brown nearly scores on an odd-man break while shorthanded. Caps PP killed.
🚨 2-1 Washington Capitals. WSH Goal: Matt Roy (2). Assists: P. Dubois (29), C. McMichael (18). Time: 08:14.
Matt Roy with a huge clapper from the point that eludes Stuart Skinner with Protas setting a screen in front. Joe B says Roy’s shot was a “63-footer.”
The Oilers are doubling the Capitals in shots 16 to 8, yet the Caps lead 2-1.
Dubois to the box for interfering Draisaitl at the 9:29 mark. Edmonton to the PP.
Without McDavid, the Oilers couldn’t get anything going in the offensive zone.
Dubois to the box for holding at 19:30, but saved a goal from Corey Perry. Perry looks like he dove though.
At intermission: The Caps lead 2-1 but they’re getting pummeled everywhere else. They’re being outshot 23 to 9. At five-on-five, things are dire: 48-19 shot attempts, 27-10 scoring chances, 14-5 high-danger chances.
3rd Period
The Oilers will start the period with a 1:30 power play.
Puck is dropped.
Capitals kill the power play.
Nurse to the box at 1:45 for slashing Tom Wilson’s stick out of his hands.
1:48 into the third period, the Capitals are being tripled up by Edmonton in shots 27 to 9
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) January 22, 2025
🚨 3-1 Washington Capitals. WSH Goal: Pierre-Luc Dubois (9). Assists: L. Eller (8), L. Thompson (1). Time: 03:49.
Eller hits the post and PLD deposits the puck into the empty net.
🚨 3-2 Washington Capitals. EDM Goal: Corey Perry (9). Assists: L. Draisaitl (37). Time: 04:50.
Corey Perry scores on a huge one-timer from the left circle. Thompson was furious and screaming at officials after Perry scored because a plate of nachos were thrown onto the ice, potentially impacting his vision.
Capitals back to the power play after Ty Emberson goes to the box for roughing at 5:17 and removing Andrew Mangiapane’s bucket.
John Carlson to the box for tripping at 17:59. Edmonton will essentially finish the game on the power play trying to tie.
A wild scramble in front but Edmonton can’t score during the frantic finish.
Caps win 3-2. The Oilers outshot the Capitals 34 to 14 and were out-attempted 60 to 28 at five-on-five. Can’t play much worse than this and win.
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