Washington Capitals (0-0-0 0pts) v. Carolina Hurricanes (0-0-1 1pt)
Game Recap:
After an offseason of retooling and preparing for a return to the playoffs, the Washington Capitals open their 2026-27 season on the road with a two-game trip, beginning in Carolina against the defending Stanley Cup champion Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes are also looking for their first win after falling to the Florida Panthers, 1-0, in overtime on Tuesday.
In the first period, things would get chippy right away as both Pierre-Luc Dubois and Sean Walker would receive minors for roughing, giving both the Caps and Canes two minutes of 4-on-4 action. Cole Hutson would create a great odd-man rush with fellow defenseman Martin Fehervary for a scoring opportunity, but they would not be able to connect.
After the 4-on-4 expired, Jakob Chychrun would make a horrible pass up the middle, but Logan Thompson would stonewall Jordan Martinook to keep the game scoreless. Moments later, Alex Ovechkin would throw the puck into the Canes zone, where Dubois would pressure Canes goaltender Brandon Bussi into pushing the puck into the slot. Alex Tuch would capitalize on the wide-open net for his first goal as a Capital, giving the Caps a 1-0 lead.
The Canes would respond by generating some momentum in the Caps’ zone, but Thompson would be up to the task while the Caps’ defenders would hold them at bay. Then, five minutes after scoring their first goal, Cole Hutson would score his first of the season with a beautiful wrister from the top of the slot to make it 2-0.
Less than three minutes later, Tuch would net his second of the game, banking in a loose puck after a Tom Wilson shot would squeak through Bussi to grow the Caps’ lead to three.
In the second period, 69 seconds into the period, the Canes would go to the box as Charles Alexis Legault would be called for slashing, giving the Caps their first powerplay of the game. Just 27 seconds into the man-advantage, Jakob Chychrun would blast one from the point to give the Caps a commanding four-goal lead.
Moments later, Dubois would go back to the box, giving the Canes their first powerplay of the game. During the penalty kill, Tuch would have an opportunity to complete the hat trick, but he would pass the puck away and the 2-on-0 opportunity would go by the wayside. Thompson would make a key save on Andrei Svechnikov, and the Caps’ penalty killers would kill off the Dubois penalty.
Moments after killing off the penalty, the Caps would go back to the penalty kill as Chychrun would be called for tripping Nikolaj Ehlers. Once again, Thompson and the penalty killers would keep the Canes off the board. Later in the period, the Caps would head back to the box as Hutson would take an interference penalty, giving the Canes their third straight powerplay opportunity.
Unfortunately for the Caps, the consecutive trips to the penalty box would finally allow the Canes to get on the board as Sebastian Aho would score to cut the lead to three. However, just eight seconds later, Ryan Leonard would strike for his first of the season off a feather pass from Dylan Strome to restore the Caps’ four-goal lead.
The Capitals would go back to the box for the fourth time in the period as they would be called for too many men, but the Caps would hold on to finish the period with the Canes set to start the third with 21 seconds remaining on the powerplay.
Then in the third period, the Capitals would kill off the remaining 21 seconds of the penalty, but a little over 90 seconds later, Hutson would go back to the penalty box for holding to give the Canes yet another powerplay. The Caps would kill it off, but later in the period would go back to the penalty kill after Fehervary was called for cross-checking. The Caps would kill off this penalty as well to go 5-for-6 on the penalty kill.
However, shortly after the penalty ended, the Canes would get a goal from Logan Stankoven on a knuckler that was deflected and would handcuff Thompson. After killing off their second penalty of the period, the Capitals would go on the powerplay thanks to a Taylor Hall tripping call, but the Caps would be unable to capitalize on the opportunity.
In the final minute of the period, both teams would get chippy for the first time since the opening period as Justin Sourdif, Aho, and Legault would all receive penalties. The Capitals would go on to defeat the Hurricanes 5-2.
Lineups:
Washington Capitals
Alex Tuch — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Tom Wilson
Alex Ovechkin — Dylan Strome — Ryan Leonard
Alaiksei Protas — Ilya Protas — Jordan Kyrou
Boone Jenner — Justin Sourdif — Anthony Beauvillier
Jakob Chychrun — Matt Roy
Cole Hutson — Vincent Desharnais
Martin Fehervary — Timothy Liljegren
Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren
Scratched: Ivan Miroshnichenko, Ethen Frank, Dylan McIlrath
Injured: Rasmus Sandin (knee)
Carolina Hurricanes
Andrei Svechnikov — Sebastian Aho — Eric Robinson
Taylor Hall — Logan Stankoven — Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers — Jordan Staal — Jordan Martinook
Nicolas Deslauriers — Mark Jankowski — William Carrier
Jaccob Slavin — Jacob Chatfield
K’Andre Miller — Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere — Charles Alexis Legault
Brandon Bussi
Pyotr Kochetkov
Scratched: Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Mike Reilly
Injured: Seth Jarvis (shoulder)
First Period:
WAS Penalty – 2:21 – Pierre-Luc Dubois – 2 minutes for Roughing
CAR Penalty – 2:21 – Sean Walker – 2 minutes for Roughing
WAS Goal – 6:33 – Alex Tuch (1) from Pierre-Luc Dubois (1) and Alex Ovechkin (1)
WAS Goal – 11:33 – Cole Hutson (1) from Ilya Protas (1) and Aliaksei Protas (1)
WAS Goal – 14:23 – Alex Tuch (2) from Tom Wilson (1) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (2)
| End of First | WAS – 3 | CAR – 0 |
| Shots | 15 | 12 |
| Faceoff Wins | 15/24 | 9/24 |
| Hits | 9 | 14 |
| Powerplay | N/A | N/A |
Second Period:
CAR Penalty – 1:09 – Charles Alexis Legault – 2 minutes for Slashing
WAS PPG – 1:36 – Jakob Chychrun (1) from Dylan Strome (1)
WAS Penalty – 4:38 – Pierre-Luc Dubois – 2 minutes for Cross Checking
WAS Penalty – 8:57 – Jakob Cychrun – 2 minutes for Tripping
WAS Penalty – 15:30 – Cole Hutson – 2 minutes for Interference
CAR PPG – Sebastian Aho (1) from Andrei Svechnikov (1) and Jackson Blake (1)
WAS Goal – Ryan Leonard (1) from Dylan Strome (2) and Jakob Chychrun (1)
WAS Penalty – Bench served by Alex Ovechkin – 2 minutes for Too Many Men
| End of Second | WAS – 5 | CAR – 1 |
| Shots | 24 | 27 |
| Faceoff Wins | 27/47 | 20/47 |
| Hits | 10 | 24 |
| Powerplay | 1/1 | 1/4 |
Third Period:
WAS Penalty – 1:58 – Cole Hutson – 2 minutes for Holding
WAS Penalty – 7:17 – Martin Fehervary – 2 minutes for Cross Checking
CAR Goal – 10:50 – Logan Stankoven (1) from K’Andre Miller (1) and William Carrier (1)
CAR Penalty – 13:15 – Taylor Hall – 2 minutes for Tripping
WAS Penalty – 19:18 – Justin Sourdif – 2 minutes for Cross Checking
CAR Penalty – 19:18 – Sebastian Aho – 2 minutes for Roughing
CAR Penalty – 19:18 – Charles Alexis Legault – 10 minute Misconduct
| End of Third | WAS – 5 | CAR – 2 |
| Shots | 27 | 33 |
| Faceoff Wins | 32/61 | 29/62 |
| Hits | 19 | 32 |
| Powerplay | 1/2 | 1/6 |
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