Logan Thompson returned to the net against the Nashville Predators on Thursday after missing the past four games due to an upper-body injury. And he was phenomenal.

The Calgary, Alberta native stopped 27 of 29 Predators shots in the Capitals’ 4-2 victory, recording his 19th win of the season. Per MoneyPuck, he stopped 1.63 more goals than expected.

“LT, coming back, probably as good a performance in the net as we’ve had all season long,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said. “I mean, he was fantastic tonight. Right from the start, made so many big saves in that game. I’ll be honest with you, we weren’t very good, so without that performance, we are not getting two points tonight.”

Thompson’s biggest save came on his robbery of Jonathan Marchessault during a 2-on-0 break with 14:15 remaining in the second period. The Capitals’ netminder just got his glove on Marchessault’s shot at the far post as the Predators forward passed back and forth with Erik Haula.

“I knew Marchy was going to be cocked,” Thompson said. “Playing with him (in Vegas), it’s fun to stop him, so I had a feeling they were going to go back to Marchy, and luckily it stayed out. Fun to stop that guy… But, yeah, I just had a feeling they were going to throw it back to him with him being a shooter.”

While with the Vegas Golden Knights, Thompson played parts of three seasons with Marchessault in the NHL from 2021 through 2024, becoming Stanley Cup champions together in 2023. Both players left the team in the 2024 offseason.

“[We] are lucky to have him, man,” Jakob Chychrun said. “He’s unbelievable. He’s been our rock now for the last year and a half. Gotta be one of the best, if not the best, goalie in the league. It’s fun playing in front of him every night.”

While Thompson got the best of Marchessault on the odd-man break, his old friend ended his shutout bid, redirecting a shot in front of the net with 2:20 remaining in the second period.

“Then he got me back with the first,” Thompson said.

The game was Thompson’s final one with the Capitals before flying to Italy to join Team Canada at the Winter Olympics.

“It was important to get this one before the break to feel good,” Thompson said.

“For him to play like he did tonight when we needed it most, and now going over to Italy, you just think about him going over there and feeling really, really confident and good about his game as he goes into a tournament with the best players in the world,” added Carbery.