The present and the future met at a sold-out Capital One Arena Wednesday night as Alex Ovechkin netted the 731st and 732nd of his career. At the same time, 19-year-old Hendrix Lapierre scored his first goal as the Washington Capitals beat the New York Rangers 5-1 to open the 2021-22 season.
“There was a lot of opportunity out there tonight,” head coach Peter Laviolette said in his postgame press conference. “I thought we did a good job of bringing pucks to the net, scored some big goals,” he said.
The Capitals took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a power-play goal from T.J. Oshie but put the game away in the second period, outshooting the Rangers 15-1 at one point and taking a 3-0 lead with two goals in less than 30 seconds.
With the Capitals on the power play, Justin Schultz beat New York goalie Alexandar Georgiev from 30 feet away.
Twenty-four seconds later, Oshie beat the Rangers defense and threaded a perfect pass to Lapierre, who found the net for his first career NHL goal.
“Playing with Osh is really easy,” Lapierre said. “I knew when I called the puck, he was going to pass it to me, and I just got lucky…. It was just so fun. The crowd was incredible. For a first game, I don’t think I could have asked for a better one.”
he said.
“Coming into camp here, we have a veteran team, and he just fought his way into the lineup,” Oshie said. “Earned the respect of the coaches. Earned the respect of his linemates. His teammates and just in general just an all-around good kid to be around.”
The third period belonged to Ovechkin, who came into the season opener just one goal behind Marcel Dionne for fifth place on the all-time list.
Ovechkin tied Dionne on a power-play goal two minutes and 38 seconds into the third period as a John Carlson shot bounced off Anthony Manth right to Ovechkin to make the score 4-0. Ovechkin passed Dionne at the 12:01 mark of the third on a short-handed goal.
The Great Eight was given a standing ovation after both goals by the crowd, most of whom have not been in Capital One Arena in over a year and a half.
“The atmosphere is crazy,” Ovechkin said. “I think we all missing it the last couple years. It’s a total different feeling when everybody cheering for you.”
The Capitals will play host to the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday night.