The Washington Capitals were sleepwalking through much of their matinee matchup against the New York Islanders. While the team’s defense struggled to keep the Islanders away from their net, their goaltender, Logan Thompson, kept the Islanders from ultimately breaking through on the scoreboard.

Thompson’s first save of the game came on a 2-on-1 chance from Anders Lee in flashy fashion, cartwheeling to rob Lee with his glove. Later in the first period, he added a breakaway stop on Simon Holmstrom and went to a full split to stymie Mathew Barzal’s wraparound attempt.

“I mean, he had about, I don’t know, 10 grade-A saves for us,” defenseman Matt Roy said postgame. “He definitely kept us in it and gave us a chance to win. He played great today.”

In the first period, the Islanders owned 70.3 percent of the expected goals, creating 10 scoring chances and five high-danger chances. After Thompson helped the Capitals survive most of that early onslaught, the team in front of him drew a penalty and settled the game down with a power-play goal from alternate captain Tom Wilson.

“Yeah, I mean three or four huge saves in the first period,” Wilson said. “I think that’s something that he does very well for us. There’s 82 games. Some nights you come out a little bit slow, and in the last couple of years, he’s been able to make really big saves in the first, allow us to wake up, go down and get one, kind of get in front. That’s huge when you have a goalie that’s doing that for you. So it’s no surprise he’s been playing really, really well, and every time he’s in there, he gives us a chance.”

Thompson battling for his teammates when they weren’t at their best was the central theme for the Capitals after the win. He finished the game with 30 stops on 31 shots against, saving, per MoneyPuck, 3.21 more goals than expected.

“He gave us a chance early on to find our footing, gave up too many odd-man rushes early in that hockey game,” head coach Spencer Carbery said. “We were caught off guard a bit by their speed and transition, and made a few mistakes with our F3 and D pinching in some situations. He bails us out and gives us a chance to find our footing. We get a power play, get up in that game, and then, yeah, we’re able to hang on.”

Carbery recently went right back to Thompson after he allowed four goals to the Tampa Bay Lightning on just six shots, and Thompson has rewarded that faith with three straight victories. Thompson brought up his tough night against the Lightning after beating the Islanders, comparing his play at the start of the bad loss to his heroics on Sunday afternoon.

“I think any time you can make some desperation saves like that early on and keep your team in it,” Thompson said. “It really could have gone the other way. I think it’s very similar to the Tampa game, right? I think sometimes you let four goals in on six shots, and other times you’re keeping the puck out of the net. So, fortunately, it went that way tonight, and I was able to buy the guys some time.”

Thompson is now 11-6-1 this season with a 2.08 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage. According to MoneyPuck, he has now saved 16.8 more goals than expected this season, which is second in the league behind only Boston Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman (19.4).

Logan Thompson stopped 30 of 31 shots against this afternoon to improve to 11-6-1. Thompson’s 11 wins are tied for the second-most in the NHL, trailing only Colorado’s Scott Wedgewood (13 wins). pic.twitter.com/2uVk9GFKhP

— Capitals PR (@CapitalsPR) November 30, 2025

The win starts the Capitals’ four-game road trip on the right foot as they’re set to fly west tonight for three straight in California next week. Thompson will see some action against some familiar foes from the past, as the Caps and the former Vegas Golden Knights goaltender face off against the Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, and Anaheim Ducks, all from the NHL’s Pacific Division.