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Washington Capitals win preseason opener on Tom Wilson overtime goal

By Michael Marzzacco

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 13: Tom Wilson #43 of the Washington Capitals celebrates with Nicklas Backstrom #19 after scoring a goal in the third period against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game Two of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 13, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 13: Tom Wilson #43 of the Washington Capitals celebrates with Nicklas Backstrom #19 after scoring a goal in the third period against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game Two of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 13, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Washington Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks played an exciting hockey game on Monday night despite it being the preseason.

In a thriller at Capital One Arena, the Washington Capitals defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in the first game of the preseason thanks to a coast-to-coast overtime goal from Tom Wilson.

Things didn’t start out too well for the home team. The Capitals had to play catch up in the beginning but after holding them scoreless and Pheonix Copley keeping Washington in the game, Wilson delivered.

The Blackhawks took a 1-0 lead at 7:20 of the first when Aleksi Saarela deflected in a shot from Erik Gustafsson. Alex Nylander was credited with the secondary assist. 1-0 would be the score after 20 with the Blackhawks outshooting the Capitals 11-6.

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The second period featured plenty of offense with a combined five goals. Damien Riat put the Caps on the board at 2:06, slam dunking a nifty backhanded pass from Connor McMichael. Tyler Lewington was also credited with the assist.

Two minutes and three seconds later, the Blackhawks regained the lead thanks to Nylander. The Caps went to the power play after Brendan Perlini was called for holding Chandler Stephenson at 5:28 and they struck on the man-advantage on a shot from Travis Boyd in the right face-off area. Aliaksei Protas and Christian Djoos had the assist.

Protas gave the Capitals their first lead of the night at 8:38 with a great play getting to the front of the net to poke it in. Beck Malenstyn and Snively were credited with the assists. That lead would be short-lived as Adam Boqvist tied it at 12:46. 3-3 would be the score heading into the second intermission with the Caps outshooting the Blackhawks 13-8 in the middle stanza.

The third period was scoreless with shots even at nine apiece. Both teams had power play opportunities and couldn’t cash in including a late man-advantage opportunity for the Caps with 2:48 left after the Blackhawks were called for too many men on the ice.

In the overtime period, the ice opened up for Tom Wilson who was easily the most polarizing player heading into this game. Wilson got a lead pass from Protas and glided past Dylan Sikura, went to his right and put the puck past Blackhawks netminder Collin Delia to send Caps fans home happy.

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The Capitals continue their preseason on Wednesday night as the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues visit Capital One Arena. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.

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