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New York Rangers at Washington Capitals

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Tom Wilson has Gordie Howe hat trick in Capitals' 6-3 win against Rangers

New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals: Game Highlights

Wilson, who earlier in the day was named a member of Canada’s Olympic roster, got into a fight with Sam Carrick in the second period for at least his second Gordie Howe hat trick — a goal, an assist and a fight — since March 3, 2025.

Justin Sourdif also had two goals and Anthony Beauvillier and Aliaksei Protas each scored for the Capitals, who have won two of the last three games.

Adam Fox, making his return from long-term injured reserve, had a goal and an assist for the Rangers, who have lost three straight. Vincent Trocheck and Braden Schneider also scored.

With the Capitals tied 1-1 and needing a spark in the second, Wilson rose to the occasion. The 31-year-old came streaking up ice and leveled Noah Laba before getting to the front of the net and roofing a feed from Connor McMichael to restore Washington’s lead as he became the first Capital to hit the 20-goal mark this season. Minutes later, he answered for Laba’s hit, fighting Carrick.

The fight, initiated by Carrick, put the Capitals on the power play. Sourdif snuck a loose puck past Jonathan Quick, who had 21 saves, to end a 16-game goal drought to make it 3-1.

Fox responded with a power-play goal of his own soon after to pull things to 3-2 going into the third.

Protas and Wilson, netting his 200th career goal, added insurance tallies late to cushion the lead.

Schneider brought New York back within two late.

Wilson assisted Sourdif on an empty-netter.

Charlie Lindgren made 22 saves for Washington.

Up next Rangers: Visit Florida in the Winter Classic on Friday.

Capitals: Visit Ottawa on Thursday.

This story has been corrected to show that Wilson is 31 years old, not 28.

Regular Season Series

WSH leads series 2-1

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 12:27 Anthony Beauvillier Goal (8) Snap Shot, assists: Ryan Leonard (14), Matt Roy (10)
Goal 1st Period 19:20 Vincent Trocheck Goal (9) Snap Shot, assists: Artemi Panarin (26), Adam Fox (24)
Goal 2nd Period 7:33 Tom Wilson Goal (20) Snap Shot, assists: Connor McMichael (15), Rasmus Sandin (10)
Goal 2nd Period 11:12 Justin Sourdif Goal (4) Backhand, assists: Alex Ovechkin (19)
Goal 2nd Period 15:17 Adam Fox Goal (4) Slap Shot, assists: Mika Zibanejad (18), Artemi Panarin (27)
Goal 3rd Period 13:34 Aliaksei Protas Goal (15) Tip-In, assists: Rasmus Sandin (11), Nic Dowd (7)
Goal 3rd Period 16:37 Tom Wilson Goal (21) Snap Shot, assists: Connor McMichael (16)
Goal 3rd Period 18:16 Braden Schneider Goal (2) Snap Shot, assists: Gabe Perreault (4)
Goal 3rd Period 19:11 Justin Sourdif Goal (5) Snap Shot, assists: Tom Wilson (19), Aliaksei Protas (15)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/nyr.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originNYR https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/wsh.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originWSH
27 Blocked Shots 21
21 Hits 21
5 Takeaways 5
25 Shots 27
1 Power Play Goals 1
1 Power Play Opportunities 3
100.0 Power Play Percentage 33.3
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
30 Faceoffs Won 30
50.0 Faceoff Win Percent 50.0
17 Giveaways 18
4 Total Penalties 2
11 Penalty Minutes 7
Washington Capitals Washington Capitals Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Cole Hutson, D Day-To-Day Dec 27
New York Rangers New York Rangers Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Noah Laba, C Out Jan 1
Conor Sheary, LW Injured Reserve Jan 1
Adam Edstrom, C Injured Reserve Dec 10

Game Information

Capital One Arena

Location: Washington, DC
Attendance: 18,347 | Capacity:

2025-26 Metropolitan Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Carolina 24 12 51 3
NY Islanders 22 15 48 4
Philadelphia 20 12 47 7
Washington 21 15 47 5
New Jersey 21 17 44 2
Pittsburgh 17 12 43 9
NY Rangers 19 18 43 5
Columbus 17 16 40 6
Full Standings