Ovechkin scores first of season, but Capitals fall to Seattle

Alex Ovechkin scored his first goal of the season Sunday, but the Capitals could not hold off Seattle in a 5–3 loss at Capital One Arena.

Washington was tied late in the third period before Jared McCann put the Kraken ahead with 5:27 remaining. Ryan Winterton added a breakaway goal with 2:40 left, ending the Capitals’ chance to turn an early third-period response into a third consecutive victory.

The loss dropped Washington to 3–2–0. Seattle improved to 4–2–0 behind 33 saves from Joey Daccord, while Logan Thompson stopped 22 shots for the Capitals.

Ovechkin’s goal was one of two firsts for Washington. Jordan Kyrou scored his first goal as a Capital, finishing a cross-ice pass from Cole Hutson to cancel out Kaapo Kakko’s opening goal. Kakko had scored on a rebound at 6:06 of the first period; Kyrou answered at 11:41.

Ovechkin then put Washington ahead at 16:47 after Ilya Protas found him in front of the net. The lead did not survive the period. Jordan Eberle scored late in the first to send the teams into intermission tied 2–2.

Seattle regained the advantage through Frederick Gaudreau in the second period. Boone Jenner answered just 46 seconds into the third, scoring on his own rebound to make it 3–3.

That left Washington nearly an entire period to find the deciding goal. Instead, McCann broke the tie and Winterton supplied the insurance.

The scoring sequence explains why this defeat will sting despite the individual milestones. Washington recovered from two deficits and briefly held the lead, yet Seattle answered Ovechkin before intermission and delivered the final two goals after Jenner’s equalizer.

The Capitals received production from Ovechkin and two new arrivals in Kyrou and Jenner. Their next step is turning those contributions into a more secure finish when a close game reaches its deciding minutes.