The Washington Capitals (21-14-5) kick off 2026 north of the border. They will visit the Ottawa Senators (18-15-1) at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday afternoon.
The puck drops at 1:00 p.m. ET.
The Capitals play the back end of a midweek afternoon back end on New Year’s Day. The game comes one day after the team beat the Rangers 6-3.
Wednesday was a special day for both Tom Wilson and Logan Thompson. The two Capitals players were named to Team Canada’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
While Thompson had the day off, Wilson put up one of his best performances on the ice. The alternate captain recorded two goals, one assist, and a fight, finishing with a Gordie Howe Hat Trick.
At the same time, Wilson’s two tallies gave him 200 on his career, as he also leads the team with 21 on the season.
Charlie Lindgren started against the Rangers and recorded 22 saves. Now Thompson gets the start on New Year’s Day right after being named to Team Canada.
Meanwhile, Ottawa has struggled since the holiday break, falling to Toronto on Saturday and Columbus on Monday. The team had gone 4-0-1 ahead of the break.
Ottawa also recently announced that goaltender Linus Ullmark would be taking a leave of absence for personal reasons. Ullmark started 28 of the Senators’ first 36 games of the season, while Leevi Merilainen got the others.
Expected Capitals Lines
Forwards
Connor McMichael – Justin Sourdif – Alex Ovechkin
Aliaksei Protas – Dylan Strome – Tom Wilson
Ryan Leonard – Nic Dowd – Ethen Frank
Brandon Duhaime – Hendrix Lapierre – Anthony Beauvillier
Defensemen
Martin Fehervary – John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun – Matt Roy
Rasmus Sandin – Dylan McIlrath
Goalie
Logan Thompson
Expected Senators Lines
Forwards
Brady Tkachuk – Tim Stutzle – Fabian Zetterlund
David Perron – Dylan Cozens – Drake Batherson
Michael Amadio – Shane Pinto – Claude Giroux
Ridly Greig – Stephen Halliday – Nick Cousins
Defensemen
Jake Sanderson – Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot – Nick Jensen
Tyler Kleven – Jordan Spence
Goalie
Leevi Merilainen
How to Watch
TV: Monumental Sports Network
Radio: 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio Network
