Each of Washington’s top line forwards scored goals, and Anthony Beauvillier’s tally just moments after the opening face-off set the tone early, as the Capitals beat the Penguins 5-3 in the final home opener of Alex Ovechkin’s 22-year career.
Tom Wilson, Pierre-Luc Dubois and offseason acquisition Alex Tuch all scored for Washington, with Wilson’s three points leading the way. It was his 16th career game with three or more points and his 16th goal against the Penguins, his most against any team.
“We’re starting to find our groove a little bit,” Wilson said. “Just using our size, using our speed. Thought we made good plays and put ourselves in opportunities to take advantage when they made mistakes.”
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After Ovechkin’s announcement Monday that this will be his last NHL season, a sold-out Capital One Arena roared as he was introduced along with his teammates in a pregame ceremony — a moment crystallized by his sons, Sergei and Ilya.
“It was a pretty cool moment, Ovechkin said. “I was talking to my kids before that, and they were nervous as well. But I told them you don’t have to worry about it, don’t be nervous, just say it and it’ll all be fine.”
The two, ages eight and six, respectively, were standing at the edge of the ice on a red carpet, microphone in hand, and had the honor of presenting their father, the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, to the Washington faithful one more time.
“I had no idea any of that was happening,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “I think they nailed that moment. And special for I think everybody in the building — our players, our coaching staff to kind of like take a minute, let O come out by himself and his two sons to introduce him like that was a special moment.”
The pregame energy spilled over immediately into the game. After former Capital Trevor van Riemsdyk turned the puck over in the neutral zone, Beauvillier took a pass from Dylan Strome, streaked past former teammate and Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang, and lifted a nasty backhand behind goaltender Arturs Silovs just 23 seconds in for his 300th career point.
Fifty-six seconds later, Penguins winger Bryan Rust, on the ice for his first shift of the season after missing two games with an injury, skated around Capitals center Ilya Protas and sniped Thompson on the short side to tie things up.
Wilson capitalized on a Dubois centering pass from behind the net at 11:51 of the first, his first goal of the season, to give Washington a 2-1 lead. Wilson can also thank Letang, who no-look dumped the puck from the far half-wall to Dubois’ waiting stick behind Silovs.
In the second, Wilson gave one back to his centerman, one touching a pass to Dubois at the right dot for a goal that was caused in part by Tuch forcing the issue with Silovs as he tried to clear the puck behind the net.
“He’s really smart,” Wilson said of his linemate. “Obviously, he’s got a ton of skill, but he puts himself in the right spots to create offense. And I think we took care of our own end for the most part. And then when we get to the o-zone, you know it’ll happen for us.”
Tuch would notch his later in the period on a two-on-none breakout, with Wilson setting up his lineman with an easy pass that was buried past Silovs for his third goal of the season and a 4-1 lead.
“He can fit on any of our lines because he’s a phenomenal player. But I think what you’re seeing from him is he’s an extremely intelligent player, and he has a great stick. So even on the two on zero, like he’s reading that D to D, so he has great instincts,” Carbery said.
But when it seemed like Washington might run away with the proceedings, things tightened up — as most Caps-Pens meetings usually do.
Pittsburgh answered less than a minute later as Tommy Novak gobbled up a rebound off the post and scored past a prone Logan Thompson. Then late in the second, Nick Robertson tipped in a shot-pass in the slot from defenseman Kaedan Korczak, his third of the season, to cut Washington’s lead to 4-3.
“I feel like that’s just become part of their MO because [Sidney Crosby] works on it so hard,” Carbery said. “He does it after practice, before, and so all their D, whenever they get a puck loaded high, they’re looking not necessarily at the goaltender and the net. They’re looking for where’s the stick to find, and it’s difficult to handle.”
But another van Riemsdyk action would lead to Washington’s fifth goal after he was called for hooking following a neutral zone turnover. On the ensuing power play, leading to a Ryan Leonard wrister from the left face-off circle that beat Silovs on the far side for the game’s final tally. It was the first power play goal given up by Pittsburgh after nine successful kills to start the season.
The shots-on-goal disparity flipped in the second period as the Penguins tried to get back in it. Washington had the 14-4 edge in the first, but the Pens asserted themselves with a 13-5 in the second.
Pittsburgh ended up winning that battle, 30-27, and had a chance to get back in the game after Dubois was whistled for boarding just after the midway point of the third, but was unsuccessful for the third time on the power play.
The win is Washington’s (2-1) third straight against Pittsburgh (2-2) and third straight against the Pens at Capital One Arena, the longest such streak since 2003-04.
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