Alex Ovechkin assisted on goals by Tom Wilson and Aliaksei Protas, while Logan Thompson made 24 saves against his former team. The Washington Capitals defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 on Tuesday night, ending the Knights’ season-opening winning streak at three games.
Ovechkin, who is pursuing Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record, became the 60th player in league history to achieve 700 assists. He has three assists in Washington’s first two games of the season and is 42 assists away from breaking Gretzky’s record.
Jakub Vrana scored on his first shot after returning to the Capitals, the team he won the Stanley Cup with in 2018 when they defeated Vegas in the finals. Vrana made the team after attending training camp on a tryout basis.
Jakob Chychrun also scored his first goal since joining Washington in a summer trade from Ottawa. Thompson, who was traded from the Golden Knights, played well against them after they chose not to give him a larger role.
Adin Hill, the goalie who helped Vegas win the Cup in 2023, allowed four goals on 22 shots. Victor Olofsson and Jack Eichel scored for the Knights.
This game was challenging after playing at home on Sunday night, with no time to adjust to the Eastern Time Zone.
They found their rhythm after starting their season later than most teams, including their first two opponents.
Chychrun scored by batting in a goal off a rush from Nic Dowd, making it 4-1 for the Capitals 6:13 into the second period.
