Caps Rout Rangers 5-1 in Season Opener
In front of a sold out crowd at Capital One, the Caps scored early and often to embarrass the Rangers in the 2021-2022 season opener.
In classic Caps fashion, TJ Oshie kicked off the scoring on the power play about 5 minutes into the first quarter. TJ buried a cross pass by Alex Ovechkin passed the diving Rangers goalie.
About halfway through the second, the defense got involved as Justin Schultz fired a slap shot from the blue line to extend the Caps lead to 2-0. 30 seconds later, the rookie and lifelong Caps fan Hendrix Lapierre scored his first NHL goal on a backhand pass from TJ. Lapierre was selected by the Caps 22 overall in the 2020 draft and made his NHL debut Wednesday night.
The scoring continued as OVI slapped home a rebound for goal number 731 to tie Marcel Dionne 5th all-time on the NHL career goals list. Shortly thereafter the GR8 8 roofed a short-handed backhand shot to claim sole possession of 5th all-time. He now stands at 732 career goals. He’s coming for you, Gretzky.
Vitek Vanecek posted a strong night in goal stopping 23 of 24 shots. Evgeny Kuznetsov added 3 assists.
And for all of you wondering, yes, Tom Wilson still owns the Rangers. The Rangers were so concerned about signing bruisers (Ryan Reaves) to fight Willy they forgot to sign goal scores. And yes, Tom Wilson single handedly got an entire organization’s front office and coaching staff fired. Legend.
The Caps take on the defending champs Tampa Bay Lightning at Capital One on Saturday Night.
#ALLCAPS
