Washington Capitals Roll Over Ottawa Senators 4-1 As Cole Hutson Makes Exciting NHL Debut

Last night, the Washington Capitals defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-1. Star Capitals Forward Alex Ovechkin scored, as did exciting young Defenseman Cole Hutson in his NHL debut. Tom Wilson and Aliaksei Protas also scored for the Capitals, while Tim Stützle scored the Senators’ only goal of the game. This is an important step in the Capitals’ bid to earn a wild-card playoff spot, which they are currently six points out of.

Hutson’s Debut Brings a Goal, Lots of Anticipation

Many in the crowd and watching at home were greatly anticipating Hutson’s debut on NHL ice. At just 19 years of age, Hutson is coming off a successful career at Boston University and is now the second-youngest defenseman in NHL history to score a goal in his first game.

Hutson only played for BU for two years, as he was picked by the Capitals in the second round of the 2024 NHL Draft. He is a two-time medalist with the U.S. team at the IIHF World Under-18 Championships from 2023 and 2024, and while on the U.S. National Development team, set a record for the highest points by a defenseman with 119 (25 goals and 94 assists).

In 2025, he recorded three goals and five assists for eight total points as part of a gold-medal-winning U.S. team at the World Ice Hockey Junior Championships, leading all skaters, the first defenseman to ever pull off the feat.

Hutson is following his older brother Lane’s footsteps into the NHL, with Lane playing for the Montreal Canadiens and excelling during the 2024-2025 season. Cole excelled at BU, whose season ended on March 14 with a 4-2 quarterfinal loss to No. 14 UConn. Just four days later, Hutson netted a goal in the NHL for the first time.

Since Hutson’s commitment to the Capitals has been public since the 2024 draft, there was plenty of excitement among fans, and the home arena exploded with cheers when Hutson took his rookie lap before the start of the game. He certainly didn’t disappoint, eventually being credited with five shots and a goal in 16 minutes.

Capitals vs. Senators

The first period of the game went scoreless, with the Senators taking 16 shots and the Capitals just 7. Capitals Goalkeeper Logan Thompson played excellently, having to block most of those shots. That changed dramatically in the second period, however, as Ovechkin (assisted by Rasmus Sandin) scored at 8:09. That goal makes 25 on the season for Ovechkin, the 20th such season of his career where he scored 25 goals or more.

He is now tied with Gordie Howe for the most in NHL history. It was also Ovechkin’s 999th career goal in the regular and postseason.

Wilson scored for the Capitals at 18:13 during the second period, being assisted by Trevor van Riemsdyk. Stülze, assisted by Claude Giroux, put the Senators within a goal of the Capitals at 17:19 of the third period. It only took a few minutes for that to change, though, as Protas scored on an empty net at 18:28 and Hutson scored the game’s last goal at 19:34 with his parents watching.

The Senators outshot the Capitals with 36 shots on goal, while Washington recorded 25. Wilson led the game in shots on goal with 5, scoring one goal.

Other notable accomplishments came from Thompson, who made 34 saves against the Senators Goalie Linus Ullmark’s 21. Capitals Forward Anthony Beauvillier played in his 700th career NHL game, and Ovechkin is only the NHL’s sixth-ever player to score at least 25 goals in a season over the age of 40.

Post-Game Reactions

Capitals Head Coach Spencer Carbery shared his excitement about the dominant play from his team, and practically gushed over Hutson’s performance. “He did a lot of good things. I don’t know if you could have drawn up a better first game for Cole Hutson in a Washington Capitals jersey,” Carbery said.

Ottawa Senators Head Coach Travis Green was disappointed by the loss. “I thought 10 minutes in the second we weren’t at our best and give their team credit. They played well. … We had more than enough chances to score two to four goals probably. Disappointing loss,” he told the press afterwards.

The Capitals will face the New Jersey Devils for a road and conference matchup on March 20. The Devils are on a 3-game win streak and sit four points and one spot below the Capitals in the Metropolitan Division. The Senators will play the New York Islanders on March 19 at home in what will be a tough matchup for them.