📸 : RMNB
The Washington Capitals needed a win on Saturday afternoon and got just that. Against what amounted to the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ B-Team, the Capitals reached the end zone, securing a 6-3 victory.
Really fun game. Can the Penguins play that exact lineup again today?
- As expected, the Capitals absolutely dominated what was basically half of an AHL team. At five-on-five, they controlled 66.2 percent of shot attempts, 62.5 percent of expected goals, 71.5 percent of scoring chances, and 65.9 percent of high-danger chances. The Penguins only recorded 12 total shots in the game, including a one-shot first period. That is unsurprisingly the least amount of shots a team has recorded against the Capitals in a single game this season.
- Ilya Protas was the star of the show, scoring his first NHL goal and recording three total points. He is the first teenager in just over 42 years to record three points in a game for the Capitals, with the last being Scott Stevens (1g, 2a) on March 1, 1984. Protas finished with 16:06 of ice time and three shots. His goal came on the power play, so he now has one more career power-play goal than his older brother.
- Ryan Leonard also had a big game, scoring two goals to bring his season total to 20. Leonard is just the eighth Capitals rookie to ever score 20 goals in a single season and the first since Alex Ovechkin (2005-06). In the Capitals’ franchise history, Leonard’s 44 points this year rank 10th all-time among rookie skaters in a single season. He leaped over Michal Pivonka (43) with his two goals.
Washington’s 35 regulation wins are the seventh most in the NHL.
— Capitals PR (@CapitalsPR) April 11, 2026
- We stay with the milestones as Tom Wilson also potted his 30th goal of the season. Wilson became just the third player in Capitals history with multiple 30-goal seasons at age 30 or older, joining Peter Bondra (four seasons) and Ovechkin (10 seasons). He also became the first non-Ovechkin Capitals player to record back-to-back 30-goal campaigns since Alex Semin did so in 2008-09 and 2009-10.
- Cole Hutson grabbed two assists in the win, giving him 10 points (3g, 7a) in his first 12 career games. Since his NHL debut on March 18, no other rookie in the league has recorded more points than Hutson. Hutson will still be a rookie next season and take aim at not only the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year, but also the franchise record in scoring by a rookie defenseman, which is held by Robert Picard, who had 37 points (10g, 27a) in 75 games during the 1977-78 season.
- If you want to know all about the scenarios the Capitals need to happen for them to still make the playoffs, Ian has you covered. There are still a couple of ways remaining for the Caps to secure the third spot in the Metropolitan Division. MoneyPuck, as of writing this post, has their odds at 8.2 percent.
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