DENVER — The Washington Capitals celebrated a convincing 5-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night, with Connor McMichael leading the charge by scoring two goals. The Capitals found their momentum early, scoring four times on their first ten shots, while goaltender Charlie Lindgren secured the victory with 17 saves, frustrating Colorado’s return of some key forwards.
Among those returning to the Avalanche was Valeri Nichushkin, who rejoined the active roster after a six-month suspension due to the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program, managing one shot in nearly 20 minutes on the ice. Colorado also welcomed back wingers Jonathan Drouin and Miles Wood, who had been sidelined with upper-body injuries, with Drouin’s absence dating back to the season opener, and Wood having been on the injured list since late October.
Parker Kelly opened the scoring for the Avalanche just two minutes into the game, giving them a brief 1-0 lead. However, Washington quickly turned the tide as Jakub Vrana and McMichael found the net on back-to-back shots, putting the Capitals ahead. Nikolai Kovalenko attempted to rally the Avalanche by getting one back early in the second period, but Jakob Chychrun restored a two-goal lead midway through the frame.
Notably, Capitals star Alex Ovechkin did not score during the game, leaving him still 31 goals short of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894. For Colorado, Trent Miner made his NHL debut, stepping in for an ineffective Justus Annunen after just under two minutes into the second period, delivering 12 saves in relief. Annunen had let in three goals on six shots before Miner took over.
One pivotal moment in the match came when McMichael intercepted an attempted clear from Sam Girard at the Colorado blue line, then scored with a backhand shot against Annunen, extending the Capitals’ advantage to 3-1 early in the third period.
A significant statistic from the night highlighted that Nathan MacKinnon, the Avalanche center leading the NHL with 33 points, was held scoreless for the first time at home this season. Previously, he had registered at least one point in 16 out of 18 games overall.
Looking ahead, the Capitals are set to face the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday night, while the Avalanche will embark on a four-game road trip starting with a match against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night.