Nic Dowd, Ryan Leonard, and Jakob Chychrun scored as the Washington Capitals bounced back from a tough loss to defeat the Seattle Kraken 4-1 on Tuesday night, wrapping up a successful 3-1 homestand.
Tom Wilson added an empty-net goal in the final minute to seal the win, while Logan Thompson stopped 26 shots for Washington.
Jaden Schwartz scored the lone goal for Seattle, which fell on the second night of a back-to-back and has now dropped two straight in regulation after earning points in each of its first five games.
The Capitals came out strong after a sluggish start in their previous outing against Vancouver, where they fell behind 4-0 before losing 4-3. This time, Dowd opened the scoring in the first period, finishing a slick passing sequence that started with Brandon Duhaime entering the zone and John Carlson setting him up for an easy tap-in.
Washington took control early in the second. Leonard, who hit the post earlier in the game, found the net 25 seconds into the period, rifling a wrist shot past Seattle goaltender Matt Murray from the high slot. A little over a minute later, Chychrun added a power-play goal to extend the lead to 3-0.
Schwartz broke up Thompson’s shutout bid midway through the third, capitalizing on a rebound, but the Kraken couldn’t close the gap despite a late power play. Jani Nyman hit the post and missed a golden rebound chance seconds later.
At 20 years and 273 days old, Leonard became the youngest Capital to score in consecutive games since Nicklas Backstrom did so in 2008. The Capitals’ power play has also come alive, scoring in four straight games after a slow start to the season.
The night also marked a milestone for head athletic trainer Jason Serbus, who worked his 2,000th professional game. The team celebrated the achievement by bringing him onto the ice for postgame fist bumps.
Up Next:
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Kraken: Continue their road trip on Thursday against the Winnipeg Jets.
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Capitals: Travel to Columbus to face the Blue Jackets on Friday night.
