Capitals’ Lapierre ends drought; Wilson, Thompson in form ahead of Olympic Games

“I know what I can do in this league. It had been a little while, but the confidence has always been there. I trust the work that I put in on a daily basis. It feels good to get one, just got to keep going with the consistency now and rack a couple of wins up.”

A John Carlson shot deflected off the leg of Calgary’s Yan Kuznetsov and onto Lapierre’s stick for an equalizing goal at 6:33 of the second period.

Carlson led a raucous post-goal celebration jumping into Lapierre’s arms. Head coach Spencer Carberry said coaches had to tell the bench to settle down during a time out after the goal.

“Guys were going nuts on the bench,” he said. “Lappy works so hard and he cares so much and he’s such a great teammate.

“Every guy in there pulls for him and is doing everything they can to help him be successful on the ice. For that to come to fruition tonight and him to score a goal, guys were ecstatic for him on the bench.”

Washington’s 2020 first-round draft pick (22nd overall), who played major junior hockey with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, scored his 10th goal in 132 games for the Caps.

“He’s such a good kid, and he’s such a good person. Not once did he come to the rink and be frustrated or take anything away from the team,” said Capitals forward Tom Wilson. “He stuck with it, and it’s a huge goal for us at this point in the season.”

Alex Ovechkin with an empty-netter and Aliaksei Protas also scored for Washington (25-21-6), which snapped a four-game losing streak. Goalie Logan Thompson made 25 saves in the win.

Morgan Frost scored for Calgary (21-25-5) and Devin Cooley stopped 35 shots in the loss.

IN OLYMPIC FORM

Wilson and Thompson, both named to Canada’s Olympic men’s hockey team for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, were factors in Friday’s victory.

Calgary native Thompson made 25 saves in the win and held the Flames to one goal when in the first period when the Capitals were outshot 16-8.

Toronto’s Wilson collected his second assist in two games since he sat out eight with a lower-body injury. He also returned to his abrasive style with a game-leading five hits.

“I’m super excited to watch him play in two weeks,” Lapierre said. “I’ll be glued to my TV for sure, but, he is a tremendous teammate.”

Canada opens the Olympic men’s hockey tournament Feb. 12 against Czechia.

Wilson was tossed at the end of Friday’s game with a 10-minute misconduct after he and Flames defenceman Mackenzie Weegar exchanged chirps.

“I was kind in the thick of it all night,” Wilson said. “Maybe the ref had just kind of had enough of me and sent me to the room.”

But Carberry says the forward brings an energy that’s valuable to a team.

“He drags our group into the fight,” said Washington’s head coach.

“It gets everybody’s attention and everybody stands up and now it’s not just, ‘let’s just go through the motions and play an NHL game.’ It’s like ‘get ready because you might get hit. He’s in a scrum, ‘oh I got to get in there as well.’

“One of the things or the biggest assets that he brings our team is pulling guys into the fight and it’s never going to be a quiet night. He’s going to physically engage. He’s going to give you everything he’s got and he’s going to make the opposition uncomfortable.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 23, 2026.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Capitals’ Lapierre ends drought; Wilson, Thompson in form ahead of Olympic Games

Our Community