The Washington Capitals secured a 4-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken at Capital One Arena, finishing their four-game homestand with a 3-1-0 record. Nic Dowd scored and assisted in the win, while Ryan Leonard and Jakob Chychrun added key goals. The Capitals have now won five of their past six games.
The Washington Capitals dominated the Seattle Kraken for much of the game, building a multi-goal lead through the first two periods before holding off a third-period push from the visitors.
Washington opened the scoring at 8:30 of the first period when Brandon Duhaime carried the puck into Seattle territory and passed to John Carlson, who fed Nic Dowd for a tap-in near the right post, giving the Caps a 1-0 lead. Ryan Leonard extended the advantage to 2-0 just 25 seconds into the second period with a snap shot from the high slot after Aliaksei Protas poked the puck loose on the forecheck. "It was just a quick transition play," Leonard said. "I passed it up to Pro, and he chased it down pretty good."
On the power play, Jakob Chychrun made it 3-0 at 1:33 of the second, ripping a shot into the top right corner from the right circle off a pass from Alex Ovechkin. "That was the first time we rolled that unit, so it was nice to get out there," Chychrun noted. The Capitals outshot Seattle 16-3 in the period and limited the Kraken to nine shots through 40 minutes, holding an 11-1 edge in high-danger scoring chances at 5-on-5.
Seattle pulled within 3-1 at 3:50 of the third when Jaden Schwartz buried a rebound from Ben Meyers' shot off the end boards. The Kraken generated more zone time late but couldn't close the gap, as Logan Thompson made 18 saves. Tom Wilson sealed the 4-1 win with an empty-net goal at 19:10.
"I liked our start a lot," Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. "The first period was good, the second was even better." Kraken coach Lane Lambert added, "We inflicted pain on ourselves by turning pucks over early on. We have to be better."
Notes: Caps power play scored in four straight games. Dylan Strome has nine points in a four-game streak. Seattle's Mason Marchment is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Matt Murray stopped 30 shots in his Kraken debut.