Final frame. Aliaksei Protas tipped Rasmus Sandin\u2019s pass to extend Washington\u2019s lead. Tom Wilson made it certain with his second of the day. Braden Schneider beat Lindgren in the final minutes to save some face, but Justin Sourdif got the empty netter.<\/p>\n
Caps beat Rangers 6-3!<\/p>\n
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More Info<\/a><\/p>\n Tom Wilson was named to Team Canada today. He threw a monster hit on Laba, scored a great goal on Quick, taunted Gavrikov, fought Carrick, drew an instigator, scored again, and set up an empty-netter. He got a Gordie Howe Hat Trick. He\u2019s got 21 goals already and 200 in his career. We published our Patreon-exclusive newsletter this morning, but I\u2019ll share one bit from it. Here is Tom Wilson\u2019s career vs Brad Marchand\u2019s, according to GAR:<\/p>\n Noah Laba did not return after this hit from Wilson. Wilson\u2019s goal came ten seconds later. The officials probably should have blown the whistle when it was clear Laba wasn\u2019t getting up on his own.<\/p>\n Brilliant outing by Ryan Leonard. His assist on that opening goal by Anthony Beauvillier was flawless. He nearly did the same in the second period. And he\u2019s still drawing penalties pretty much every game. I\u2019m always late to this kind of conclusion, but it seems like his skillset is complete. Joe B’s tie and shirt combo raises an interesting thought for your new year’s eve celebration: sparkling ros\u00e9?! #joebsuitofthenight<\/p>\n \u2014 RMNB (@rmnb.bsky.social)<\/a> 2025-12-31T17:30:13.038Z<\/a><\/p>\n That is Washington\u2019s first regulation win in 13 days and six games, and it\u2019s owed mostly to Tom Wilson, who had a very, very good day. He flirted with both kinds of hat tricks \u2013 the real one, which he missed, and the second one, which is the fun one, which is the one he got. He scored the winning difference. He can have an extra quarter-filled flute of sparkling ros\u00e9 tonight, as a treat.<\/p>\n Congrats to Logan Thompson and Tom Wilson for making the Olympic team for Canada. Well deserved on both accounts, and delicious troll bait on the second one. The announcement makes me confront my hypocrisy. I pretend I support players over teams, but now I\u2019m worried \u201cmy\u201d players will hurt playing for \u201cnot-my\u201d team. I was secretly amped when the Caps had no players at the Four Nations Face-Off earlier this year<\/a>\/last year (depending on when you read this).<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t![\"Wilson](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/acl.jpg\")
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\nJustin Sourdif is a good player with a poor scoring touch. He got the second part when he went to the net at the tail end of a second period power play. Ovechkin sent a puck in his direction, and he was ready for it. It\u2019s the first power-play goal of his career, but from his Mic\u2019d Up segment on Monumental, you would think he\u2019d already had hundreds of them<\/a>. The power-play goal complements a nearly flawless five-on-five effort.
\nSourdif\u2019s goal is a plus for the Caps power play, but it came one shift after a good shorthanded chance by Vladislav Gavrikov. The PP is still in a dire state, I think. The more I think about it, the more I think it\u2019s mostly about getting into the offensive zone \u2013 the team ranks 31st in PP zone time. I\u2019d tell you who is in 32nd place but the NHL makes it hard. I think it\u2019s the Lightning, who are ranked 23rd in conversion. The Caps are 30th.
\nFrom the Klarna out-of-town scoreboard, I think this<\/a> means Jason Robertson won\u2019t be on Team USA. Team USA needs to be purged and scoured. John Vanbiesbrouck should be put on a glacier and handed a saw.
\nConnor McMichael has not scored in nine games, but he had two grade-A chances in the third period, both glove saves by Jonathan Quick.
\nAt the other end of the ice, an okay effort from Charlie Lindgren. The Fox goal irked me, but once I saw the angle it took off Nic Dowd\u2019s block I backed away from the criticism. The Schneider goal \u2013 I feel like that\u2019s the kind of goal that differentiates a starting goalie from a Charlie goalie.
\nHendrix Lapierre ice-time check: 06:53. He had 8 shifts. The top six got more than 20. Whatever the root cause of this is, it\u2019s bleeding over into impacting other players. They can\u2019t let this linger into 2026. Well, I mean, they can. They can, and it\u2019s the most likely outcome. But they oughtn\u2019t.<\/p>\n