Rangers Lose Laba, Sheary, and the game to the Capitals

Lost two players and were taken down in the third period

Washington, D.C.- The final game of the 2025 portion of the Calendar season as the New York Rangers return up north to play against the Washington Capitals at the Capital One Arena in our nation’s capital. It was a rough and tumble game when they lost players due to injury as the Rangers dropped the full two points as the Caps earned the win by a final score of six to three.

Quick sweep and in

The Capitals opened the scoring as Anthony Beauvillier entered the zone and dropped the puck off to Matt Roy inside the blueline. A quick pass to Ryan Leonard at the near boards, skated down a bit, then made a hard crossice pass to Beauvillier at the far side faceoff circle, and with a one timer struck it hard past Jonathan Quick at 12:27 of the first period.

Tied game in the final minute

The Rangers were skating hard to get the tying goal before the opening period ended, and they finally got it when Adam Fox retrieved the rebound and skated up the far boards toward the far point. He gave the puck to Artemi Panarin, who skated in, released a quick, hard shot. In front of Charlie Lindgren was Vincent Trocheck, who stood outside the crease and deflected the puck in the net at 19:20 of the first period. For Trocheck, that was his 600th career NHL Point.

Wilson destroys Laba and scores

Tom Wilson once again finds a way to make a clean hard hit on an opponent, does it to rookie center Noah Laba. As Quick passed the puck to Conor Sheary along the near boards in the neutral zone, He left it for Laba to move the puck forward. Laba never saw Wilson as he took a hard hit that knocked him down and kept him down.

The Capitals went to work as Rasmus Sandin went down the far side, made a pass down low to Connor McMichael, who saw Wilson skate in and in front of Quick. Made the quick pass and Wilson scored to retake the lead at 7:33 of the second period. Laba skated off with help from the Rangers trainer back to the locker room as he was physically shaken up.

The Rangers were late making a change as Taylor Raddysh came off the ice, and no one came on to replace him. They had only three players back in their zone, while Laba was down and injured, which allowed the Caps to retake the lead.

Power Play Goal after Carrick Revenge

When Wilson went back on the ice for his shift, the Rangers put out their fourth line, which signaled that Sam Carrick wanted a piece of Wilson after his hit injured Laba. Both men went into the box for five minutes for fighting, but Carrick received an extra two minutes for roughing and not the instigating penalty.

But the Rangers were down by two when the Caps took the man advantage. The Capitals were buzzing inside the Rangers’ zone after Lindgren stopped Vladislav Gavrikov’s short-handed chance. As the puck bounced around in front of Quick, it went toward Alexander Ovechkin, who tried to take a shot, but it was shanked. It was still found by Justin Sourdif, and he just lifted it over the pads of Quick at 11:12 of the second period.

Rangers pull one back on the power play

The Rangers finally got the man advantage as they were looking to cut the deficit by one. Panarin, along the near boards, made a long cross-ice pass to Mika Zibanejad at the far point. Instead of taking the shot, Zibanejad made a backhand pass to Fox, who skated toward the middle at the top of the zone, and a one-timer that beat Lindgren at 15:17 of the second period on the power play

The Caps end it in the third

The Capitals scored two consecutive goals to extend the lead again. Nic Dowd in the near corner, protecting the puck, kicked it out toward Aliaksei Protas. He passed it toward Rasmus Sandin at the far side, who passed it back toward the net, and Protas was there to redirect the puck past Quick at 13:34 of the third period.

Then Wilson got his second of the game at 16:37 of the third period, making it a three-goal deficit. When there was a bit of hope from Gabe Perreault skating down and finding Braden Schneider for his tally at 18:16 of the third, maybe the Rangers had a chance to try and get a fourth. Even though they pulled Jonathan Quick, it wasn’t meant to be, as the Capitals got the empty net goal at 19:11 from Sourdif.

Fox returns from injury, and both Laba and Sheary head for injury

It was great to see Adam Fox return for the Rangers as he earned two points in his return from injury, but for both Noah Laba and Conor Sheary, they head to the injury list. Laba suffered an upper-body injury, while Sheary suffered a lower-body injury in the second period. Hopefully, it’s not too serious, and both can play in the Winter Classic in the new year this coming Friday.

“Yeah, we had some looks. The reality was it’s a one-goal game for the majority of the game. We competed hard. I think we pressed down the stretch, we opened it up a little bit, and they took advantage of it. But I thought, you know, you look at the first 12 minutes or so of the third period, we had… Some offensive zone time we were in and around the net, we got a big save on the breakaway save from Quickie.

You know, we respond with a two-on-one, and Lindgren gets a great look. Give their guy credit— he made a big save for them in that circumstance. You know, I think we just got to keep digging in. There was some line-up juggling. Obviously, Laba gets hurt. Carrick fights out for a little while. Sherry gets hurt.

It just taxes guys, you know, when you lose two guys early like that to injury, and then Sam’s in the box for, you know, whatever it is, seven minutes. That it was, you know, you’re down to short numbers. So that’s just the reality of the way the game played out. I feel like Fox looked in his first game back. I thought he had a strong game. I thought he played really well. I think you can see the impact that he has on our team,” said Head Coach Mike Sullivan

ARTEMI PANARIN: Recorded his 90th point in 2025, becoming the fifth player born outside North America to record five consecutive calendar years with at least 90 points and the fifth active player with seven or more 90-point campaigns. He notched his 11th multi-point game of the season and his 93rd as a Ranger, tying Andy Bathgate for the fifth most in franchise history.

ADAM FOX: Returned to the ice after missing 14 games due to injury. He scored his second power play goal and notched his 10th multi-point game of the season.

VINCENT TROCHECK: Opened the scoring for the Blueshirts, notching his 600th career NHL point. He has tallied five points (3G-2A) through his last five games.

GABE PERREAULT: Has tallied an assist in two straight games against the Capitals and has four points (1G-3A) through his last six games.

New York Rangers News:

• Rangers fall in Overtime to the Hurricanes
• A Bad Misplay of the Puck, Puts the Rangers behind all game long at the Islanders
• Big Third Period Comeback Victory for the Rangers at the Capitals

“Game Day. Done Right.”

When the Rangers hit the ice and celebrate their 100th Anniversary, you need a beer that matches your passion. Michelob Ultra – the superior light beer for superior fans. Low carbs, full flavor, pure game night energy.

Michelob Ultra. It’s Only Worth It.

Subscribe to our Premium Newsletter for insider analysis, locker room insights, and early access to our upcoming podcast featuring the voices that matter most in New York Sports.