Thompson, Dubois return from injury to lift Caps past Preds before break

WASHINGTON — Logan Thompson was back in net, just in time for the Olympics.

Thompson returned from injured reserve and made 27 saves to lift the Washington Capitals to a 4-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night. It was the team’s final game before the Olympic break. Thompson is on Canada’s roster.

“It’s important to get this one before the break, and feeling good with confidence going into this big tournament,” Thompson said.

Thompson played for the first time since Jan. 27, and the Capitals needed him to be sharp, especially when Jonathan Marchessault and Erik Haula came in alone on a two-man breakaway for Nashville. Thompson stopped Marchessault’s shot.

“He was fantastic tonight right from the start. So many big saves in that game,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said. “I’ll be honest with you. We weren’t very good. So without that performance we are not getting two points tonight.”

Tom Wilson, Thompson’s teammate for Canada, opened the scoring for Washington. Pierre-Luc Dubois — who was coming back from an even longer injury absence, having not played since Oct. 31 — made it 2-0 before the first period was over.

The Capitals remained four points behind the New York Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division. They’re also four behind for the last wild card in the Eastern Conference.

That’s a concern for later. Now Thompson can focus on trying to win a gold medal.

“It’s a dream come true,” he said. “I’m going to just go there and soak it all in and do any little bit that they want me to do, whether that’s practice goalie, backup, hand out the water bottles. I’m just going to be happy to be there.”

Jakob Chychrun scored two goals for the Capitals, bringing his season total to 21, the most among NHL defensemen. Alex Ovechkin assisted on Chychrun’s second goal, but he played only 13:15 – one of the lowest ice time totals of his career.

Dubois was without a point in his first six games this season, then had surgery for injuries to his abdominal and adductor muscles. He made it back a bit earlier than initially expected.

“We were circling this game on the calendar. It was an ambitious goal. At times we didn’t know if we were going to be able to do it,” Dubois said. “The staff just did such a fantastic job of helping me and putting me in position to succeed. I owe it all to them.”