The Washington Capitals defeated the Anaheim Ducks by a score of 7-4 at Honda Center on Tuesday in the opener of their three-game California road trip. Washington, who extended their winning streak to five, improved to 43-14-8 this season (.723 points percentage). Goaltender Logan Thompson made 26 saves in the victory.
Washington’s Lines
Ovechkin — Dylan Strome — Tom Wilson Connor McMichael — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Aliaksei Protas Andrew Mangiapane – Lars Eller — Taylor Raddysh
Brandon Duhaime — Nic Dowd — Anthony Beauvillier
Rasmus Sandin — John Carlson Martin Fehervary — Matt Roy
Jakob Chychrun — Trevor Van Riemsdyk
Thompson
Charlie Lindgren
- Scratched
- D Dylan McIlrath
- D Alexander Alexeyev
- RW Ethen Frank
- Injured
- LW Sonny Milano (upper-body)
- C Nicklas Backstrom (hip)
- RW T.J. Oshie (back)
Anaheim’s Lines
Frank Vatrano — Ryan Strome — Troy Terry Trevor Zegras — Leo Carlsson — Alex Killorn Cutter Gauthier – Mason McTavish — Sam Colangelo
Jansen Harkins — Isac Lundestrom — Ross Johnston
Jackson LaCombe — Radko Gudas Olen Zellweger — Jacob Trouba
Pavel Mintyukov — Drew Helleson
Lukas Dostal
Ville Husso
- Scratched
- D Oliver Kylington
- RW Brett Leason
- Injured
- LW Brock McGinn (ACL)
- LW Robby Fabbri (upper-body)
- G John Gibson (lower-body)
First Period
Scoring
- 2:07, 1-0 Washington: Strome went to the backhand on a breakaway down the middle after Wilson entered the zone and saucered a pass over the stick of Helleson to Strome. Strome has reached the 20-goal mark for the fourth consecutive season and became the fifth different Capital to score 20 or more goals this season (Ovechkin: 33; Wilson: 29; Protas: 25; McMichael: 23). Strome extends his point streak to five games (2-3-5). Wilson extended his point and assist streaks to five games (3-5-8). Wilson (29-24-53 in 64 games) has established a new single-season career high in points (previously 2021-22: 24-28-52 in 78).
Dylan Strome sneaks in off Wilson’s pass and tallies an early goal, Capitals break the ice!#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/sdixBga7HF
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) March 12, 2025
- 4:51, 1-1: Terry circled around the goal-line, fed Trouba in and slot, and Trouba pounded a shot that went under the right arm of Thompson and in after he shanked his initial attempt.
Jacob Trouba has his first goal as an Anaheim Duck!!!@AnaheimDucks | #FlyTogther | #NHLTonight pic.twitter.com/7aORsAdqgd
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) March 12, 2025
- 5:20: 2-1 Anaheim: Helleson drilled a slapper over the glove of Thompson threw a screen after Zegras threw it to him from the right half-wall.
Quickly on top after a Helleson goal😎@AnaheimDucks | #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/ZBkJIh1fAj
— Victory+ (@victoryplustv) March 12, 2025
- 18:14, 2-2: Protas ripped a wrister over the glove of Dostal after Ovechkin’s shot off of the draw was blocked by Gudas. Protas has recorded five points (three goals) in Washington’s last seven periods of play. The goal marked Protas’ 56th point of the season (26 goals) and 51st even-strength point (24). Protas entered Tuesday tied for ninth in the NHL in even-strength points. Ovechkin recorded his 446th career multi-point game and his 132nd multi-assist performance. Dubois tallied his 13th point (four goals) in his last 11 games. Dubois ranks second on Washington in even-strength points (14-31-45) and assists (39).
#ALLCAPS 2-2. PROTAS TIES IT UP AT 2! pic.twitter.com/TVsES6hcUR
— x – Capitals Replays 🍁 (@capsreplays) March 12, 2025
Stats
- 19-8 Washington in shots
- .588 Anaheim on faceoffs
- 8-5 Anaheim in hits
- 5-2 Anaheim in blocked shots
- 7-6 Anaheim in giveaways
Graphs: Natural StatTrick
Second Period
Scoring
- 5:19, 3-2 Washington: Dubois redirected Roy’s pass from the point over the blocker of Dostal at the left post after Chychrun slid the puck across to Roy from the left half-wall. Dubois has recorded 14 points (five goals) in his last 11 games. 12 of Dubois’ 17 goals this season have come in his last 25 games. Roy has tallied 13 points (two goals) in 26 career games against Anaheim, which is the most points he has recorded against a single franchise. Chychrun (18-24-42 in 60) has established a new single-season career high in points (previously 41 twice: 2020-21, 2023-24).
please watch this perfect pass from roysie pic.twitter.com/ZP8K0ZogMZ
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 12, 2025
Stats
- 30-15 Washington in shots
- including 11-7 in the second
- Each team did not score on their first power play
- 16-7 Anaheim in hits
- 13-8 Anaheim in blocked shots
- 10-10 in giveaways
Third Period
Scoring
- 4:26, 3-3: Mintyukov flinged a wrist shot from up top that floated through a maze of traffic on the way to the net and over the glove of Thompson after getting a feed by Gauthier from the left half-wall.
Anaheim goal!
Scored by Pavel Mintyukov with 15:34 remaining in the 3rd period.
Anaheim: 3
Washington: 3#WSHvsANA #FlyTogether #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/Ih89Lvn2Kl
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 12, 2025
- 4:57, 4-3 Washington: Protas sneaked behind the defense, grabbed the puck, and backhanded a shot under the pad of Dostal after Dubois sent it towards the net from the point. Protas notched his 27th goal and fifth multi-goal game of the season. Dubois has reached the 40-assist mark for the first time in his career. McMichael has recorded 10 points (four goals) in his last 10 games dating back to February 22.
Aliaksei Protas sneaks open and buries Dubois’ pretty feed, restoring the Washington lead!#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/Hyr8zUBjyS
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) March 12, 2025
- 6:18, 4-4: Vatrano settled the puck down and whipped a wrister over the blocker of Thompson from the left dot after Strome got the puck at the point and sent a pass to Vatrano.
FRANK VATRANO SNIPE!! NOW 20 GOALS ON THE SEASON FOR FRANK 🚨 #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/SQ3jJKLYmf
— Late Arrivals (@LateArrivalsPod) March 12, 2025
- 13:25, 5-4 Washington: After Wilson picked the puck up but his wrister was denied by the shoulder of Dostal, Dowd swooped in and buried one into an open net. With two assists on Tuesday, Wilson has registered 19 points (nine goals) in his last 14 games.
Nic Dowd cleans up Wilson’s rebound, giving Washington the lead in the third!#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/jCarTCqZ8L
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) March 12, 2025
- 18:22, 6-4: Beauvillier dangled around Mintykov, chased down the puck after he lost the puck, zipped in on a breakaway, and buried his first as a Capital on the backhand on a breakaway. Washington acquired the 28-year-old from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday. With the primary helper, Duhaime (7-10-17 in 65) tied his single-season career high in points (2021-22: 6-11-17 in 80 with Minnesota Wild).
Anthony Beauvillier has his 1st with the Caps and it’s a BEAUTY 🔥 pic.twitter.com/jeZU1jX0Ll
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) March 12, 2025
- 19:43, 7-4 (ENG): Ovechkin got the puck off of the boards, fed Protas up ahead, and Protas skated in for the goal and his first career NHL hat trick. Protas has notched seven points (five goals) in his last three games. Ovechkin tallied three assists on Tuesday against Anaheim. It marks Ovechkin’s second three-assist game of the season and the 18th of his career.
#ALLCAPS 7-4. PROTAS EMPTY NETTER. FIRST CAREER HAT TRICK FOR THE BIG GUY! CONGRATS PRO! one of my favorite players im so happy for him. pic.twitter.com/0J2W6xzIVX
— x – Capitals Replays 🍁 (@capsreplays) March 12, 2025
Stats
- 41-27 Washington in shots
- 12-11 Anaheim in the third
- Anaheim finished with two power play opportunities
- 22-8 Anaheim in hits
- 17-14 Anaheim in blocked shots
- 12-10 Anaheim in giveaways
- 3-1 Washington in takeaways
Washington remained 12 points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes (with both teams down to 17 games to go) for first place in the Metropolitan Division. They are also 13 ahead of the Florida Panthers (who have also played 65 this season) for first in the Eastern Conference.
Next game: Thursday at Los Angeles Kings (10:30 PM ET, Monumental Sports Network in-market, ESPN+ out-of-market)
By Harrison Brown
