NHL
Capitals beat Carolina 5–2 as Tuch scores twice in debut
Alex Tuch’s two-goal debut helped Washington beat Carolina 5–2. Alex Ovechkin started his 22nd NHL season with an assist.
Alex Tuch scored twice in his Washington debut and Logan Thompson made 31 saves as the Capitals opened their season with a 5–2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, October 2, at Lenovo Center in Raleigh.
Washington led 3–0 after the first period and added a power-play goal early in the second. Alex Ovechkin began his 22nd NHL season with an assist on the opening goal, while Cole Hutson and Ryan Leonard contributed goals of their own.
Before the opener, Ovechkin explained his decision to return. “I still love the game,” he said in comments published by NHL.com earlier Friday. On Washington’s offseason changes, he added, “I think the moves that we made this summer gave me motivation to come back.”
Tuch provided an immediate return on one of those changes. Pierre-Luc Dubois stole the puck from Carolina goalie Brandon Bussi behind the net and found Tuch in front for the first goal at 6:33. Hutson followed at 11:33, with Ilya and Aliaksei Protas assisting.
Tuch scored again at 14:23, nudging the puck across the line after Tom Wilson’s shot got through Bussi. “It’s a confidence builder for sure,” Tuch said afterward, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. “It’s a good measuring stick.”
Jakob Chychrun made it 4–0 on the power play 1:36 into the second. Carolina had chances to recover, but Washington killed five of six Hurricanes power plays, with Thompson stopping 14 of the 15 shots he faced while short-handed.
When Sebastian Aho scored on the power play at 16:50 of the second, Leonard answered eight seconds later off a feed from Dylan Strome. That restored Washington’s four-goal lead before the intermission.
Logan Stankoven scored at 10:50 of the third for the 5–2 final. Carolina outshot Washington 33–27, and Bussi finished with 22 saves.
Dubois and Strome each had two assists, and Chychrun added an assist to his goal. Ovechkin finished with one shot in 12:46 of ice time. Boone Jenner won 13 of 17 faceoffs in his Washington debut.
Our Capitals opening-roster report details the additions around Ovechkin. Washington continues its road trip Saturday at Tampa Bay.
Sources: Official NHL game record; NHL.com recap; Capitals game report. Ovechkin’s quoted comments preceded the opener.
Sources and notes
- Alex Ovechkin’s quoted comments were published by NHL.com before the October 2 opener. Game statistics follow the NHL’s final record. The linked reports supply the scoring accounts and Alex Tuch’s postgame comments.
