Logan Thompson on making only 13 saves against Wild: ‘I think our shot clock guy might be blind in one eye’

The Washington Capitals had their most thorough victory of the season, a 5-1 throttling of the Minnesota Wild, on Friday night. While the Capitals got big performances by Dylan Strome (4 points) and Alex Ovechkin (898th career goal), the Capitals’ crease at the other end was awfully quiet as the Caps dominated possession and put up 45 shots against the Wild.

Logan Thompson faced only 14 shots total during the evening — three in the first period, four in the second, and seven in the third — and surrendered only one goal, a shot from the slot by former Capital Marcus Johansson.

At least, that’s according to the official game report. While the stats said one thing, Thompson seemed to disagree with the Wild’s final shot output.

“I think our shot clock guy might be blind in one eye,” Thompson quipped postgame.

While the lack of rubber might seem like an easy night at the office, Thompson explained to reporters that it was anything but.

“It’s harder,” Thompson said. “Definitely as a goalie when a team comes out and is firing everything, you definitely get into [a game] easier. You definitely get in a rhythm when you’re seeing a lot more action.”

Thompson persevered, though, and improved his record to 3-1-0. He’s now stopped 2.9 goals above expected, per Money Puck, good for tenth best in the league. His GAA is also well under 2.00 (1.75), and his save percentage is .922.

“I felt good tonight,” Thompson concluded. “Obviously, I thought the team played great in front of me, and I thought I was feeling it. I thought when I was needed, I was solid tonight. And credit to them, they didn’t go away, and they got a nice goal through the screen. But I thought it was our best game of the year, a full, complete effort for everyone tonight.”

Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strome shine in 5-1 victory over Minnesota Wild

The Capitals’ top line led the charge in the team’s best game of the season, combining for three goals and seven points in a 5-1 victory on Friday over the Minnesota Wild. Both

Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strome put up standout performances: Ovechkin netted his first goal of the season in a two-point (1g, 1a) night, while Strome scored a pair of goals for the third four-point showing (2g, 2a) of his career.

Ovechkin was happy with his line’s game up and down the ice and hoped they could use the momentum to carry that play forward.

“I think we moved well,” Ovechkin said. “Breakouts, neutral zone, and obviously offensive zone we have very good chances. So we just have to keep rolling and play the same way.”

Both Ovechkin and Strome went goalless in the first four games of the season before the floodgates seemed to open against Minnesota, though Ovechkin told reporters postgame that he hadn’t been worried.

“If it was like, ‘I don’t have any chances,’ it (would have been), like, ‘Oh sh—.’ But no, chances were there,” Ovechkin said. “Just sometimes you just have to be patient. One goes in and hope next game is going to be more.”

The pair opened the scoring late in the first period, kicking off a rush in their own end. After reaching the offensive zone, Ovechkin dished the puck through defenseman Jake Middleton and right to Strome, who tipped it past a wide open Filip Gustafsson.

Strome shouted out Ovechkin during his goal celebration and gave him further credit for the play postgame.

“Obviously great pass by O, just driving the net, and he did the rest,” Strome said. “Nice to get on the board; always feels good to get the first one out of the way.”

Ovechkin, meanwhile, highlighted Strome’s performance, both on that goal and throughout the rest of the game.

“Stromer was on fire… He’s a great playmaker, but you can see he can score goals as well,” Ovechkin said. “Obviously, he was driving to the net and finding the rebounds and finding the pucks, so deserves it.”

Early in the third period, Strome would return the favor in a set play off the draw. Strome beat Wild forward Ryan Hartman at the faceoff dot and sent the puck straight to Ovechkin’s stick, barely giving Minnesota time to react before Ovechkin snapped it off the post and in.

Strome chuckled when asked about the sequence: they haven’t always found success with the play, he said, but it has the opportunity to pay off big.

“We try that play quite often and when it works, it looks great,” Strome said. “Sometimes it doesn’t always work, but just one of those where it just was kind of right in the wheelhouse and a little lucky, but a great shot by O.”

Head coach Spencer Carbery emphasized the goal’s timing in helping seal the game. Before Ovechkin scored, the Capitals were only up by one. They had a dominant 28-15 lead in shots, but Minnesota had already erased the deficit once — Marcus Johansson had tied the game 1-1 in the second period before Aliaksei Protas regained the lead 31 seconds later with another lucky goal.

After the Caps failed to score to score on so many of their chances, Carbery noted the goal gave the team some much-needed breathing room.

“That was a big moment,” Carbery said. “It’s 2-1. Game’s still teetering, even though we had controlled play. To get that third one, I think it just eased the group. Because anytime you’re playing really well and you’re only up a goal and you feel like you should be up two or three, things can happen in a game. And so that was a big goal in that moment. I thought (the first line was) excellent all night.”

Like his winger, Strome hadn’t been concerned about Ovechkin’s lack of scoring, taking on some of the blame for not being able to set him up well enough.

“He’s been getting chances,” he said. “We’ve had four or five chances each of the games and just haven’t really been putting them in the right spots for him to bury them. But luckily off the faceoff, it kind of went right in his favorite spot there and he just put it home. So I don’t think he was pressing at all. I think (it was) just matter of time before he gets one.”

Midway through the period, Strome added his second goal of the night, this time assisted by linemate Anthony Beauvillier. Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson stopped the initial shot on goal, but Strome caught his own rebound and hit paydirt.

Strome’s final point of the night came via a secondary assist on Tom Wilson’s late-game power play goal.

Carbery highlighted the team’s success at going for rebounds in his postgame press conference, and Strome confirmed it’s been a regular topic of conversation among the team in recent days.

“We talked about that a lot the last week or so, just not just having one chance and then being done,” Strome said. “I thought tonight, every time we felt like we got a chance, we were getting the rebounds and continuing play. I think all four lines had had some really good shifts in the O-zone and some guys get rewarded.”

The first line’s stellar night came as the Capitals debuted their new Screaming Eagle jerseys, continuing the pattern of Ovechkin finding success while wearing the logo. If you ask Strome, the Caps should keep the new look around.

“I think we should wear them a lot,” he said. “We should keep going with them.”

Washington will return to Capital One Arena — albeit sans Screagle — to face the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday afternoon.

Jahmyr Gibbs holds the key to unlocking Lions' offense against Buccaneers

The Detroit Lions have one of the best and most explosive offenses in the NFL this season, and that's been due in large part to their strong running game.

Detroit's combo of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs are routinely able to put together 100 yard games and multiple touchdown efforts. That ability helps the Lions be dangerous in the play action game, helping Jared Goff to be lethal down the field with his receiver targets.

So far, Detroit's run game ranks No. 8 overall in the league, and have gone for 128.7 yards per-game on the ground with 772 total yards. Their offensive line has played well enough to dominate games. In spite of that success, they weren't as effective in the second-half against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Lions only rushed for 98 yards and no touchdowns on the night, which was likely a big reason they went on to lose 30-17. Without the ground game to chew up clock and help the defense overcommit, the Chiefs were able to make Detroit one-dimensional and limit their ability to hit bigger pass plays with success.

In order to get back to their winning roots against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Lions are going to have to lean heavier on the run game. Tampa Bay's offense can be just as lethal as Kansas City's, and giving Baker Mayfield less chances to impact the outcome should be a major goal for John Morton.

With the weaponry the Lions have at their disposal, there's no excuse for Detroit not to have the right game plan going into a primetime game. Establishing the run game early and maintaining it throughout offers them the best chance at success. Fortunately, they have an elite player to help.

Past results vs. Buccaneers make Gibbs a player Lions must emphasize

The Lions have had success running the ball against Tampa Bay before. In the last two games against the Buccaneers, Detroit has rushed for a total of 252 yards and two touchdowns. Much of that success has been due to Gibbs and his ability to make huge plays on the ground.

Gibbs himself has accounted for 158 of those yards, and in the playoff game against Tampa Bay, his fourth-quarter touchdown changed the game for the Lions as they were able to make the NFC Championship Game. In last year's loss, Gibbs rushed for 84 yards

A big reason the Lions were not able to win last season's regular season game was due to red zone struggles. In spite of Dan Campbell's recent take on the running game, Gibbs is the perfect player to exploit those weaknesses. That means Morton should do whatever he can to get him the ball when the field compresses and the defense is on the run.

Detroit's ground game is once again elite in 2025, and Gibbs' explosiveness is a big reason why that is the case. He's found a way to have fantastic performances against Tampa Bay before, and emphasizing him again could be the biggest key to unlocking the offense.

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