Dec 7, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Capitals right wing Justin Sourdif (34) skates with the puck as Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Denton Mateychuk (5) defends during the first period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
The Capitals didn’t have much time to rest after coming home from their West Coast road trip, as a game with the Columbus Blue Jackets awaited their return. This one looked like a scheduled loss – but with strong goaltending and team defense, the Capitals were able to grind out the win.
Logan Thompson again was great in net, saving all 39 shots he faced including a deluge to begin the third period when the Caps were at one point being outshot 14-3. But he, and the whole team, had their work cut out for them about halfway through the third when when Hendrix Lapierre took a double minor for high sticking while clinging to a one-goal lead.
The Blue Jackets’ best chances came in succession with about three minutes left in the power play. Sean Monahan had an up-close backhand shot that Thompson fought off, then a high-slot chance by Zach Werenski was stopped by Thompson going full snow angel (with Tom Wilson making a save off his head, as well…probably unintentional but ballsy, nonetheless).
Later in the kill, they got big blocks from Rasmus Sandin and Connor McMichael sandwiched around more great saves by Thompson.
It was a great penalty-killing performance for the team, but especially Thompson, as he was able to not just make the saves but eat the puck and not give up rebounds. If the Blue Jackets scored on that power play, this game gets a lot more interesting late in the third period – instead, the Caps kill off the four minutes, add an empty-netter to seal the win, and earn a nice little break for themselves before their next game.
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