Published Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024 | 1:25 p.m.
Updated Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024 | 8:29 p.m.
End of game: Golden Knights drop second straight home game to Capitals
Logan Thompson is undefeated against his former team as he made 40 saves, guiding the Washington Capitals to a 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday.
Vegas has now dropped back-to-back games at home for the first time this season.
The Golden Knights struggled to stop Alexander Ovechkin, who scored a hat trick (three goals) and is now 28 goals away from surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record of 894. He is now up to 13 goals on the year, which is tied for the league lead.
Brett Howden scored the Golden Knights’ first goal in the second period. Keegan Kolesar netted the Golden Knights’ second goal of the game in the second period and Jack Eichel recorded his 23rd assist of the season, which ranks second in the NHL.
Vegas struggled to hold onto the puck all night, giving it away 29 times to the Capitals 13. It proved costly as the Golden Knights out-shot the Capitals, 42-25 in the game and 25-7 in the third period.
Ilya Samsonov played his first game since Oct. 30, returning from an undisclosed injury. He made 20 saves on 24 shots in the loss.
The Golden Knights drop to 11-5-2 on the year and have lost both of their games to the Capitals this season. Thompson also won the game back in October in Washington.
Vegas won’t return home until Nov. 29 against the Winnipeg Jets. Wednesday, they kick off a five-game road trip, which starts against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
End of the second period: Golden Knights trailing the Capitals by 2 goals
Despite Keegan Kolesar scoring off a Jack Eichel rebound, the Golden Knights are trailing the Capitals, 4-2, headed into the final 20 minutes of play.
Aliaksei Protas beat Brayden McNabb to a loose puck and found Jakub Vrana driving to the net for the Capitals goal, 3-1. The Kolesar goal cut the Capitals lead down to one, 4-2. Late in the period, off a comedy of errors by the Golden Knights, Alexander Ovechkin scored his second goal of the game on a 2-on-1 to give Washington a 4-2 lead.
Vegas has given away the puck 18 times tonight to Washington’s seven. The Golden Knights out-shot the Capitals in the second period, 11-6, and are narrowly trailing Washington in the game shot total, 18-17.
End of first period: Ovechkin creeps closer to Gretzky record, Golden Knights trail Capitals
Alexander Ovechkin scored his 864th career goal on the power play, now just 30 behind Wayne Gretzky’s all-time scoring record, and has helped the Washington Capitals to a 2-1 lead over the Vegas Golden Knights.
It looked like the Golden Knights were going to go scoreless at the end of the first, but a missed shot off the boards came to Brett Howden, who put the puck off Logan Thompson to get Vegas on the board with seven seconds left in the period.
Thompson was also honored by the Golden Knights with a video tribute at the first media timeout. Fans gave him a standing ovation, and the tribute made him visibly emotional.
Jakob Chychrun scored the Capitals’ second goal, as Ovechkin picked off a pass intended for Alex Pietrangelo, which eventually led to the goal. The Golden Knights were outshot in the first period, 12-6.
Pregame: Logan Thompson, Capitals visiting Vegas Golden Knights
Goalie Logan Thompson will return to T-Mobile Arena tonight when the Vegas Golden Knights host the Washington Capitals.
Thompson was traded from Vegas during the NHL Draft at the Sphere in June for a third-round draft pick.
Thompson was signing autographs at the venue when the trade was announced. The deal was part of a busy offseason for Vegas as seven players left via trade or free agency.
The Golden Knights will surely have a video tribute for Thompson, who played three seasons with the franchise and was part of its Stanley Cup champion team.
However, there could be some tension.
When Thompson was asked in the preseason about what adjustments he needed to make from Vegas to Washington, he responded, “I guess Vegas takes all the credit for goaltending over there.”
He later walked the comments back and said he was joking.
This is the second meeting between the franchises this season. In the first, Vegas lost 4-2 on Oct. 15 at Washington and Thompson made 24 saves.
Ilya Samsonov will start his first game since Oct 30, which was a 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. He has missed the last six games due to an undisclosed injury.
Check back for more coverage.
Players to watch
Golden Knights: Jack Eichel (center) 17 games played, 5 goals, 22 assists, 27 points; William Karlsson (center) 9 games played, 4 goals, 5 assists, 9 points; Tomas Hertl (forward) 17 games played, 7 goals, 8 assists, 15 points.
Washington: Dylan Strome (center) 16 games played, 5 goals, 19 assists, 24 points; Alex Ovechkin (forward) 16 games played, 10 goals, 10 assists, 20 points; Connor McMichael (center) 16 games played, 12 goals, 7 assists, 19 points.
Non-active players
Golden Knights: Victor Olofsson (lower body), Mark Stone (lower body), Nicolas Hague (undisclosed).
Washington: T.J. Oshie (back), Sonny Milano (upper body), Brandon Duhaime (lower body).
How to watch
TV: Scripps Sports (Cox Communications, channel 38), KnightTime+ (streaming)
Betting line
Golden Knights -135 Washington +114. Over/under: 6 (-118/-102).
Who is goal
Golden Knights: Ilya Samsonov – 5 games played, 3-1-1 record, 2.95 goals against average, .906 save percentage.
Washington: Logan Thompson – 8 games played, 7-0-1 record, 2.70 goals against average, .906 save percentage.