Jan 1. vs. Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre
Time: 1:00 p.m.
TV: MNMT
Radio: 106.7 THE FAN/Caps Radio Network
Washington Capitals (21-14-5)
Ottawa Senators (18-15-5)
On Wednesday afternoon in Washington, the Caps rang out the old year with a resounding 6-3 win over the New York Rangers. Just over 24 hours later in Ottawa, they’ll aim to ring in the New Year of 2026 with another two-point afternoon north of the border against the Senators. Thursday afternoon’s game against the Sens brings the Caps to the midpoint of the 2025-26 season.
Wednesday was a red-letter day for Caps right wing Tom Wilson and goaltender Logan Thompson. Hours ahead of the team’s home game against the Rangers, the two Caps stalwarts learned they had both earned roster berths on the Team Canada entry for the 2026 Olympic Games in February.
Wilson then went out and showed the world why his inclusion on the roster was a wise choice. He altered the course of what was a 1-1 game with a heavy but clean hit on New York’s Noah Laba midway through the second period, and he scored the go-ahead goal – one that put the Caps in the lead for good – on the same shift.
Challenged to a fight on his next shift, Wilson dropped the mitts with New York’s Sam Carrick, who also incurred a roughing minor in the process. The Caps scored on the ensuing power play to open up their first multi-goal lead in a game since Dec. 18, and they never trailed again and gaining revenge on the Rangers, who had pasted the Caps 7-3 on Dec. 23 in Washington, in the final game before the holiday break for both teams.
“Yeah, it was a good response by us,” says Caps goaltender Charlie Lindgren, who picked up his sixth win of the season in a 22-save performance, running his career record against the Rangers to 5-1-0. “Obviously not happy about the last time we played these guys; we want to be dominant on home ice. I thought we had a really good game tonight against a Metro opponent, a division rival, good effort tonight.”
Wilson finished the game with two goals, the third Gordie Howe hat trick of his NHL career, his 200th career NHL goal, and two critical points for his team.
“Incredible,” says Lindgren of Wilson’s performance. “He’s obviously kind of our bull; he’s our leader, and he set the tone tonight. I don’t know if it was the second or third goal, but he makes that happen. Big hit, goes down, scores a big goal at a big time. We all love Tom in here; he’s such a great guy and such a great leader.
“And obviously with [Thompson], too, it was pretty special. It was a pretty special time before the game today, just to be able to shower those guys with love and just appreciate what those guys do. It’s pretty cool for them.”
Both Wilson and Thompson were rightfully proud, humbled and appreciative of being selected for such a prestigious career opportunity.
“At the end of the day, we’re hockey players,” says Wilson. “And I think that’s the highest honor you can receive as a hockey player, to be called on by your country to play in the Olympics. So, it’s a dream come true. It sounds cliché, but you want to win the Stanley Cup and you want to win a gold medal as a Canadian kid growing up.
“And I feel very lucky. The list of thank yous is long, and it’s been a really fun journey so far. So I feel very privileged, very lucky. And there’s lots of emotions.
“I do want to say thank you to my to my wife [Taylor], I think probably Logan would say the same. But we get to put on the jersey and go over and play in the Olympics. And she takes care of the home front and our son and makes sure that we get to be good every night. So, my mom, my dad, my brothers and my wife, she makes our dream a reality.
“So, I would feel bad if I left here without saying that. And back to work for a month here, and it’s going to be fun. I get to go over there with the best goalie in the world.”
Thompson starts Thursday in Ottawa, and the Caps will be thrilled if he can lift them as much in the first game of the New Year as Wilson did in the team’s 2025 finale. Like Wilson, Thompson was humble and gracious for the opportunity.
“Just basically what Tom said,” says Thompson. “I think it’s the same thing, you dream about wearing the [maple] leaf on your jersey as a kid. I watched the Olympics as a kid growing up, and remember when they won gold, and when Jarome Iginla was on that team, and being from Calgary, that was awesome.
“So being able to get that call today, like Tom said, it’s just a privilege. I’m really thankful for the opportunity. I obviously wouldn’t be here today, getting that call, if it wasn’t for Scotty Murray and the Washington Capitals, bringing me in last year and the group of guys in that dressing room. So just like I said, I’m really thankful. And like Tom, my focus is still here for the next month, and then once it’s over, I turn my attention to the Olympics.”
Wednesday’s win gives the Caps a 6-5-3 mark for the final month of 2025. And now, as they embark upon their busiest month of the season with 16 games in January ahead of them beginning on Thursday in Ottawa, they have another opportunity to string together consecutive wins for the first time in nearly a month.
Thursday’s game is the fourth in five and a half days for the Caps since their Christmas break ended, and all four of their opponents were the four teams directly behind them in the Eastern Conference standings, teams eight through 11 when the holiday break ended. The Caps toppled New Jersey on Saturday and fell in Florida on Monday before Wednesday’s big win over the Blueshirts.
Now, they’ll try to take three out of four and start the year off on a winning note Thursday afternoon in Ottawa, which has tumbled down the Conference standings ladder since the holiday break. The Sens were 4-0-1 in their last five games ahead of the break, but they lost Saturday in Toronto and dropped the opener of a four-game homestand on Monday to Columbus.
The Sens will be well rested as they face the wearier Capitals on Thursday, as was the case in the first meeting between the two teams just over two months ago in Washington. The Caps were playing for the second time in as many nights in that Oct. 25 game, and it showed as the rested Sens handed them a 7-1 shellacking.
Days ago, Ottawa announced that goaltender Linus Ullmark will take a leave of absence for personal reasons. Ullmark started 28 of the Senators’ first 36 games this season, with Leevi Merilainen getting each of the others. Merilainen started both games coming out of the break for the Sens, who have summoned former Capital Hunter Shepard on emergency recall from AHL Belleville to back him up.
