“Washington” lost to “Ottawa” in the initial match of the 2026 NHL championship. Alexander Ovechkin failed to register any scoring actions and took part in a massive brawl following a foul by the Russian hockey player.
Ovechkin’s Club’s New Year Marathon
Following a difficult stretch, the “Washington Capitals” players successfully concluded the past calendar year and decisively defeated the “New York Rangers” on their home ice—competitors in the Eastern Conference standings and the Metropolitan Division. Spencer Carbery’s squad took the lead first in their third consecutive National Hockey League championship game and maintained the advantage throughout the contest.
“Washington” greeted the New Year moments while on the road. Less than a day after the game against the “Rangers,” the “Capitals” had an away fixture scheduled in Ottawa against the local “Senators” as part of another back-to-back set. The Senators had recently drawn close to Carbery’s team and even emerged as rivals in the battle for a top-8 spot in the East, but they subsequently suffered three straight defeats and returned to the lower part of the standings. “Washington” and “Ottawa” already faced each other this NHL season: in the US capital, the “Senators” routed the “Capitals” with a score of 7:1, formally commencing one of the most unsuccessful periods for the “Caps” in the championship.
Alexander Ovechkin did not record any scoring actions in that game and finished the match with a plus/minus rating of “-2”. Overall, throughout his career in NHL championships, the Russian forward has played quite successfully against “Ottawa”: in the preceding 61 head-to-head contests with the “Senators,” he netted 38 goals and accumulated a total of 64 points, which ranks as the third-highest figure among the most productive players in all-time NHL matchups against the “Senators.”
Interestingly, until this day, Ovechkin had twice encountered “Ottawa” in games played on January 1st, but on both occasions, he was unable to score a goal. “Washington” secured a victory in those encounters (6:3 on January 1, 2008, and 2:1 on January 1, 2017), while Ovechkin registered a total of two assists. Speaking of all “Capitals” games featuring Alexander Mikhailovich that took place on January 1st (North American time), in seven such contests, the Russian tallied a total of ten points and scored only three goals, with the “Caps” earning five wins. Today’s game for “Washington” in the capital of Canada was the final one within a mini-marathon of four matches in under five days for Carbery’s team.
The “Capitals” players formally had no respite time after yesterday’s game with the “Rangers,” as they were due for a swift flight to Ottawa. However, Ovechkin, alongside Belarusian Alexei Protas, managed to stop by his home to see his family and celebrate the New Year according to Moscow time with his wife Anastasia, sons Sergey and Ilya, champion mother Tatiana Nikolaevna, and other relatives over a symbolic glass of champagne. Ovech met the New Year according to North American Eastern Time already far from his family.
“The first thing I will do is call my wife, because we will be traveling, and we will celebrate the New Year in a different city, not with the family. But at midnight, I will call my wife,” Ovechkin had stated.
Ovechkin Nearly Exploded in Fury
Today’s contest in the Canadian capital turned out surprisingly heated and very energetic. Hardly had the head referee conducted the opening faceoff when the primary enforcers of “Washington” and “Ottawa,” Tom Wilson and Brady Tkachuk, nearly fought: a skirmish occurred, which the official managed to stop only by separating the players and making Wilson take the faceoff. Wilson himself, who just yesterday received a call-up to Team Canada for the 2026 Olympics, opened the scoring in the ninth minute of the match, netting his fifth goal in the last three games.
Wilson’s tussle with Tkachuk was far from the only one. A little later, after the Canadian’s goal, a skirmish involving Ovechkin broke out near the “Ottawa” net.
“Senators” Russian defenseman Artem Zub tripped Belarusian Alexei Protas, who, along with Dylan Strome, was placed on the same line as Ovechkin for the second consecutive game, causing the latter to crash awkwardly into the boards. The Belarusian forward needed medical assistance to leave the ice and returned to the match only after a considerable delay. Strome and Ovechkin were ready on the spot to avenge their teammate against Zub: the Canadian, for example, poked the Russian defenseman with his stick, while Ovechkin shouted a few “pleasantries” to his compatriot from “Ottawa.” Two “Senators” players prevented the “Washington” captain from engaging in a fight with Zub: American Jake Sanderson and Canadian Michael Amadio, with whom Alexander Mikhailovich almost came to blows.
The match, by the way, did not pass without a fight. Just a few minutes after that scuffle, Drake Batherson and Justin Surdiv engaged in a fistfight; Surdiv had previously assisted on Wilson’s goal and applied a powerful and painful body check against Thomas Chabot.
Near the end of the first period, “Washington” doubled their lead and capitalized on a power play earned after a foul by Nick Jensen—a former “Capitals” player. Jensen himself rectified his penalty in the second period and initiated “Ottawa’s” comeback by scoring his second goal of the season, and right before the break, the “Senators” took the lead thanks to a goal from Ridley Greig. Ovechkin was on the ice for both conceded goals, and Jensen’s goal, for instance, occurred immediately following a shot from behind the “Capitals” leader.
Subsequently, the home team played from a position of strength; in the third period, they plainly dominated “Washington,” who struggled significantly even to exit their zone. Early in the final 30 minutes, David Perron put the “Senators” ahead. Toward the end of the contest, Alexei Protas momentarily restored parity with a skilled shot from the slot area, but in one of “Ottawa’s” subsequent attacks, the “Caps” conceded again: Fabian Zetterlund, Thomas Chabot, and Tim Stützle executed a beautiful sequence that made a mockery of the visitors’ defense.
3:4—”Washington,” following a quality match with the “Rangers,” played energetically in Ottawa only through the first portion of the game but failed during the decisive phase. This defeat was the fifth in the last seven matches for Carbery’s team. Alexander Ovechkin fired four shots on target (two other attempts by the Russian were blocked) and delivered four body checks but remained without any points. The best goal-scorer in NHL history is currently on a three-game scoreless streak. This is the third consecutive January 1st contest where the Russian failed to score against “Ottawa.”
After a two-day break, “Washington” will play a home series of three games. The “Capitals” will host the “Chicago Blackhawks,” “Anaheim Ducks,” and “Dallas Stars” at their arena. The “Capitals” have not yet faced “Chicago” in the current championship campaign, and they have lost once to both “Anaheim” and “Dallas” this “regular season.”
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