Surging Capitals Sit Atop the Metropolitan Division 

Against the Maple Leafs on Nov. 28, the Capitals rallied from a 2-0 deficit, scoring four unanswered goals to win the game. Jakob Chychrun, who has been on fire to start the season, scored for the fifth straight game and recorded a point for the tenth game in a row, tying a franchise record for defensemen. 

The Capitals then travelled to New York to play the Islanders, coming out with a 4-1 win despite not looking up to the task, with goaltender Logan Thompson saving 3.21 more goals than expected, per MoneyPuck. 

“The Islanders game is a perfect example,” said Carbery. “We go there, we didn’t play great, but we get the lead. We go into the third period and we’ve got the confidence and swagger to protect that, hold, make the plays that you need to and get out of there with two points even though you didn’t have your best.”

West Coast Road Trip Continues Momentum

On Dec. 2, the Capitals played their first of three road games on their West Coast trip, beating the Los Angeles Kings 3-1. They defeated the San Jose Sharks 7-1 the next night, with Alex Ovechkin picking up two goals.

Ryan Leonard became the first NHL rookie to record a four-point game this season, as he tallied two goals and two assists against the Sharks in a 7-1 road win on Dec. 4. A Capitals rookie has not put up four points in a game since Nicklas Backstrom in 2007-08. Leonard now sits in fourth place in scoring among rookies with seven goals and 11 assists.

“The talent and the drive that he has as a young man, I saw that day one,” Carbery said. “He’s shown that talent even going back to development camps and in college. But what he’s doing is, he’s continuing to push, like I’ve said, over the last few weeks, to get better and better and better.”

On Dec. 5, the Capitals saw their six-game winning streak end with a shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks. Even worse, Leonard suffered a significant injury in the game after a high blind-side hit by the Ducks’ Jacob Trouba. 

“I understand the league’s stance and the refs’ stance on the hit,” said Carbery. “I just — to me, we have to do something as a league. I don’t know where this goes, if anything — it’s just the head contact is the key, right? That’s the key to all of this, is the head contact, and whether he’s low, and he’s in a very, very vulnerable spot.”

The Capitals returned home to beat the Blue Jackets 2-0 on Dec. 7 with a masterful exhibition by Logan Thompson, who became the 17th goaltender in NHL history to record 100 wins in 170 games or fewer. In the locker room after the game, Carbery could be heard saying, “Their guy was f***ing good, but our guy was f***ing better.” He was referring to Columbus goaltender Jet Greaves. 

Capitals Finding Success in All Zones

The Capitals’ 103 goals-for is the fourth best in the NHL, and their 75 goals-against ranks third. Tom Wilson continues to lead the team in scoring with 17 goals and 15 assists. He’s on pace to outperform his numbers from 2024-25, which was a career season for the winger. Ovechkin started slow out of the gate in terms of offensive production, but has been heating up, currently sitting second on the team with 14 goals and 15 assists.

Chychrun leads the NHL in goals by a defenseman (11) and currently sits in fifth place for total points. John Carlson’s six goals and 17 assists place him in seventh place for points. Chychrun’s plus-24 rating is good for second place in the league, right behind the Colorado Avalanche’s Cale Makar. 

The Capitals’ goaltending has been exceptional thus far, with Thompson posting a 1.96 goals-against average (GAA) and a .925 save percentage (SV%), the second-best in the NHL in both categories. The combined performances of Thompson and recently injured Charlie Lindgren have the Capitals ranked second in the NHL for team goaltending stats. 

Special teams, especially the power play, is still an area of weakness for the Capitals, who at 15.9% are currently ranked 20th in the league. The penalty kill, effective 75.3% of the time, is ranked 21st, although there have been signs of improvement of late. In their Dec. 7 win against Columbus, the Capitals killed off a four-minute man-advantage in the third period to secure the win.

Can the Capitals Repeat as Division Champs?

The Capitals defied many of their doubters in the 2024-25 season, surging to a 51-22-9 record and capturing the Metropolitan Division title. Carbery was given the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach for his efforts. Aliaksei Protas and Connor McMichael had breakout seasons, and Dylan Strome, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Wilson, Thompson, Chychrun and Carlson all had career years. The ageless Ovechkin scored 42 goals en route to breaking the all-time scoring record. 

Unfortunately for the Capitals, Pierre-Luc Dubois, last season’s phenomenal shutdown center, will be out of the lineup until March. On Dec. 7, Leonard and Lindgren were placed on injured reserve, making them unavailable for at least seven days. Carlson is listed as day-to-day. Centers Nic Dowd and Justin Sourdif have recently returned from absences due to injuries.

Dubois’ absence has created both opportunity and concern up and down the lineup. When healthy, Sourdif has filled in ably as the second-line center, and the ever-reliable Dowd has done well on the third line. Hendrix Lapierre, the hoped-for third-line center for this season, has been largely disappointing. On the wings, reinforcements from Hershey have proven themselves up to the task, with players like Ethan Frank impressing when called up from the team’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate.

The Capitals appear to be regaining their winning ways, proving that last season was no fluke. The key for this team is health, which is something even the best coaching staff can’t manage. With most of the team getting a rest over the coming Olympic break in February, a hopeful Capitals team is looking to gear up for another division title and playoff run.