The Washington Capitals defeated their betters in the standings, the surging Philadelphia Flyers, in a high-scoring affair on home ice.
Tom Wilson, playing in his 900th game, opened up scoring with a shot from the high slot using Sanheim as a screen. Alex Ovechkin hit a season total of 30 goals by finishing Matt Roy‘s drive to the net.
The Flyers got two goals early in the second period to tie it up. The first was by Sanheim, initially called for goalie interference but overruled in review. Carl Grundstrom evened the score with a head’s up play on a bouncy puck.
That got Washington’s attention. Jakob Chychrun, the birthday boy, ripped one power-play goal, and then Ryan Leonard wrapped up the second period with a second (unprecedented!) power-play goal.
One shift into the third period, Christian Dvorak brought the Flyers within one goal after an odd-man break. No worries; Alex Ovechkin took a slick pass from Connor McMichael to get the Caps ahead by two again.
A long bomb got a tip-in from Denver Barkey to keep the Flyers alive, but Tom Wilson sunk an empty-netter to lock in those delicious winning flavors.
Caps win!
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- Caps had those same offensive doldrums, especially in the first period, but once they cracked Dan Vladar (using the hockey parlance, not the gen alpha version of cracked) they didn’t stop. Bad goalies make for good games. This was a great game.
- I thought Travis Sanheim’s goal wouldn’t stand because Christian Dvorak’s stick clipped Logan Thompson, but on review it turns out it was Martin Fehervary’s. It was the right call. I don’t think that goal will further feed a discourse mill that is hungry for goalie interference gruel.
Tom Wilson honored by Capitals with tribute video for 900th career game, scores game-opening goal
- Tom Wilson suited up for his 900th regular season game for the Caps. I have reams of notes (or, I guess, megabytes instead of reams) of me complaining about how poorly he was used in that first year under Adam Oates and how I believed he could do more. Even my most fanciful optimism from 2013 doesn’t come near the player and leader he’s become. He scored, he hit guys, he glowered.
- The sequence leading up to Wilson’s goal was great. Lapierre and Sandin both paid the price to get that puck up the ice.
- By the way, I looked it up, and the Caps still have a positive goal differential in second periods this season.
- Cole Hutson committed two restraining penalties. Seems like he got benched halfway into the third period.
- Alex Ovechkin, 40, scored twice – his 30th and 31st goals of the season. His career is allegedly going to end in six games.
- With goals from Leonard (what a release) and Chychrun (at this point I expect it from him), the vaunted Caps power play has goals in three straight games after that pivotal, eight-game slump.
- A brief Trevor Zegras appreciation bullet. That guy is so gnarly and annoying and omnipresent. The NHL needs guys like that. I bet he hates it in Philadelphia. Good. I don’t need him happy. I just need him being dramaaaaaaaticcc.
it is kampfmas #joebsuitofthenight
— RMNB (@rmnb.bsky.social) 2026-03-31T22:59:06.013Z
There’s an anonymous quotation that goes something like this:
“At some point in your childhood, you and your friends went outside to play together for the last time and nobody knew it.”
You know what I’m talking about. Listen: I don’t know if or when the last time is near, or if it’s already past, but I’m going to stay present and appreciative of every time between now and then.
The next time may come on Thursday in New Jersey. I won’t miss a shift.
