Capitals carry momentum into matchup with skidding Senators

The Washington Capitals will look to bring their positive vibes into the new year when they visit the Ottawa Senators on Thursday afternoon.

Washington defeated the visiting New York Rangers 6-3 on Wednesday, the same day the Capitals learned that forward Tom Wilson and goalie Logan Thompson were named to Team Canada for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Wilson celebrated by producing two goals and an assist vs. New York. Justin Sourdif also scored twice, and Charlie Lindgren made 22 saves as Washington avenged a 7-3 loss to the Rangers on Dec. 23, when the Capitals led 3-2 in the third period.

"It was a good response by us," Lindgren said. "Obviously not happy about the last time we played these guys. We want to be dominant on home ice. I thought we had a really good game tonight against a Metro opponent, division rival."

The Capitals struggled through much of December but ended the month by winning two of three games. Beginning Thursday, they will play every other day until they have back-to-back games on Jan. 23-24.

On Wednesday, the Rangers pulled within 3-2 on Adam Fox's goal late in the second period, but Aliaksei Protas and Wilson scored to increase the margin in the third.

It was an eventful day for Wilson. His second goal was career No. 200, he set up Sourdif's empty-netter, and he engaged in a fight against Sam Carrick, giving him a Gordie Howe hat trick.

"I mean, he brings that type of mentality every game though," Sourdif said of Wilson. "He just leads the charge. His physicality, his presence. Back-checking, blocking shots, scoring goals. He kind of does it all. It helps the group a lot, and we feed off of that."

Ottawa ended 2025 on a three-game losing streak (0-2-1) after winning four games in a row. The Senators will play the second contest of a four-game homestand that opened with a 4-1 loss to Columbus on Monday.

Ottawa outshot the Blue Jackets 21-10 over the final two periods but only got one puck past Jet Greaves in that span. Columbus pulled away with a two-goal third period.

"Not very good. There wasn't a lot of good in our game tonight," Ottawa coach Travis Green said. "I don't say that very often, but that was probably one of our worst games of the year, I think."

Jake Sanderson scored for the Senators, and Leevi Merilainen made 18 saves. Tim Stutzle had an assist to extend his point streak to 10 games (eight goals, nine assists).

"Obviously, not good enough," Senators center Shane Pinto said. "I think we left Leevi out to dry there a little bit. Just didn't play our game. I think we had a tough home showing, but we've got to come back better on (Thursday) and try to win a game."

Pinto returned after missing 10 games because of a lower-body injury.

In the teams' first meeting of the season, Ottawa won 7-1 at Washington on Oct. 25 in Alex Ovechkin's 1,500th career game. Dylan Cozens and Drake Batherson each scored twice for Ottawa.

With Ottawa goaltender Linus Ullmark going on a leave of absence earlier this week, Merilainen could be in line for another start despite losing six of his past seven games. He took an overtime loss in his lone career appearance against Washington, stopping 25 of 26 shots on Jan. 16, 2025.

Thompson, who figures to start on Thursday, is 2-4-1 in his past seven games. He owns a 5-0-1 record with a 2.30 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage vs. the Senators.