📸 : RMNB
The Washington Capitals move into the three-day holiday break on the wrong end of a terrible third period. After coming into the final frame leading the New York Rangers 3-2, the Caps left their home ice 7-3 losers.
Utter collapse. Not good, y’all.
The Capitals had a lot of the puck at five-on-five throughout the game, but created little to no quality chances with that possession. The five-on-five high-danger chances ended 11-6 in favor of the Rangers, and the Caps created just two in the first two periods combined. There was just way too much deferring to defensemen at the point in the offensive zone and not enough guys willing to make plays.
One of the only players trying to make a difference on his own was Ryan Leonard, who returned from injury and immediately registered two assists. Leonard was tremendous, recording two shots on goal, five shot attempts, a drawn penalty, one hit, and one shot block.
According to the team, Leonard reaching the 20-point mark (7g, 13a) in his 30th game of the season makes him the third fastest Caps rookie in the past 40 years to reach 20 points in a season. The only two faster were Alex Ovechkin (19 games in 2005-06) and Peter Bondra (24 games in 1990-91).
Hendrix Lapierre recorded his sixth assist of the season on Washington’s third goal. Lapierre has tallied two points (1g, 1a) in five career games against the Rangers, including his first career goal in his NHL debut on Oct. 13, 2021.
— Capitals PR (@CapitalsPR) December 24, 2025
Not a good night whatsoever for Logan Thompson, who allowed six goals on just 20 shots faced. According to MoneyPuck, he saved 3.07 fewer goals than expected. Yikes.
Alex Ovechkin has not scored a goal in his last nine games. I don’t think playing him with Justin Sourdif is the answer there. I’d like to never see that line again.
The Capitals have lost six of their last seven games. Merry Christmas! Jokes aside, they need to use these three days to rest and get back on track. They aren’t playing awfully, but they definitely are not playing up to the standard they set earlier in the schedule.
📊
This story would not be possible without
Please consider joining us in supporting them.