Tom Wilson drove the Washington Capitals past the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 on Wednesday, scoring once and setting up two more in Alex Ovechkin’s final NHL home opener at Capital One Arena. Pierre-Luc Dubois added a goal and an assist, while Logan Thompson stopped 27 shots as Washington moved to 2-1-0.
- Wilson finished with three points, including the go-ahead goal from the slot late in the first period.
- Dubois had a goal and an assist. His corner feed set up Wilson, and he later converted after Penguins goalie Arturs Silovs mishandled the puck behind his net.
- Anthony Beauvillier opened the scoring just 23 seconds into the game, beating Silovs on a breakaway backhand.
- Alex Tuch scored Washington’s fourth goal after intercepting Declan Carlile’s pass at the Pittsburgh blue line and finishing a 2-on-0 return feed from Wilson.
- Ryan Leonard supplied the insurance marker on the power play, firing from the top of the left circle 3:55 into the third period.
- Thompson made 27 saves for the Capitals. Silovs turned aside 22 shots for Pittsburgh.
- Bryan Rust returned for his season debut and scored for the Penguins. He had missed Pittsburgh’s first three games with an upper-body injury suffered in the Sept. 26 preseason finale against the Buffalo Sabres.
- Tommy Novak and Nick Robertson also scored for Pittsburgh, which fell to 2-2-0.
Rust answered Beauvillier’s early breakaway finish at 1:19 of the opening period. Working down the left wall, he fought past Ilya Protas near the goal line and sent a shot toward the crease that redirected off Thompson’s equipment and in.
Washington took control with two goals from its Wilson-Dubois connection. Dubois collected the puck in the right corner and slipped a blind pass into the slot for Wilson at 11:51 of the first. At 4:42 of the second, Silovs’ turnover behind the Pittsburgh net left Dubois alone in front after Wilson put the puck on his stick.
The Penguins made it tense in the middle frame. Novak buried the rebound after Evgeni Malkin struck the left post on a 2-on-1, cutting the deficit to 4-2 only 51 seconds after Tuch’s goal. Robertson then tipped Kaeden Korczak’s point shot past Thompson with 1:59 left in the second to bring Pittsburgh within one.
Leonard’s power-play shot early in the third restored the two-goal margin and closed the scoring.
