As mentioned in this handy-dandy travel guide I wrote beforehand, I'm actually a native of the Washington, D.C. region. Although the Golden Knights are and always will be my first hockey love, it's not exactly practical nor economical for me to fly cross-country for games, so as a result, I end up going to a lot of Caps games.
A lot of Caps games. Five this season, in fact.
Our 2018 Finals opponents are, for all intents and purposes, my second team. That's why I felt bittersweet seeing Nic Dowd dealt away from the Caps but to the Golden Knights, or why I just felt crushed when the late-night news broke of John Carlson's trade to Anaheim. Thanks to living here, I've now seen Stanley Cup champion goaltender Logan Thompson play more games than any other goalie I've watched. As such, I feel uniquely qualified to speak on my gameday experience at Capital One Arena, and beyond that, what I noticed about the game itself.
The good: The actual fan experience, for the most part
This was my fifth time over the years attending VGK @ WSH, but the first time I'd done it alone. I was a bit afraid of becoming a target for trash talk as a result, but nope! Not even the slightest bit of jabbing from those sitting around me, and I even chatted with a friendly Rangers fan in front of me who'd adopted us for the game. Old rivalries die hard, I suppose. It also helps that Vegas has now lost every single one of those five games, as I'd imagine Caps fans might be in a notably worse mood if we'd won.
Is the arena showing its age? Yep. The concourses are cramped, the concrete is worn, and the bathrooms are... not great. But overall, it's no worse than most arenas, and they're embarking on aggressive renovations to fix some of those issues.
As mentioned in the travel guide I wrote, I attended Knights @ Capitals last Friday. Here’s some of the best photos I took, using a Canon SX530 HS: pic.twitter.com/6gDFVEwBBn
— Rob Lazar (@roblazar_vhn) March 6, 2026
Honestly, the only blemish on my experience was an obviously drunk fan who started cursing me out on the escalator out of the arena, but even then, other fans got her to quiet down, and security asked me unprompted if I needed any assistance.
The bad: Vegas hockey, again
Like I said, five consecutive losses for Vegas with me in the building. For comparison, after seeing them fall 3-2 to Utah this past Tuesday, the Caps are now 14-2-2 with me in the building, regardless of whether I'm rooting for them or not.
From my birds-eye view in the 400s, I saw a team consistently making sloppy passes, unable to get much pressure, and generally making life pretty easy for Logan Thompson. While they did wake up in the third period as they're apt to do, it was too little too late, and LT was absolutely locked in down the stretch. The shorthanded sequence near the end was beyond frustrating, but sometimes you just have to appreciate good goaltending.
Logan Thompson with a HUGE save on Mitch Marner to keep the Capitals ahead late 👏 pic.twitter.com/Zh17KNsKds
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 28, 2026
The ugly: Rasmus Andersson's pass to nowhere, and Jack Eichel's controller-disconnected moment
This was the one play that's stuck with me since. Akira Schmid sent the puck to the boards right of his net, where Rasmus Andersson, pressured by Tom Wilson, subsequently sent it behind the net, except... Jack Eichel just watched it go by, where it was grabbed behind the net by Aliaksei Protas instead. Worse yet, Eichel didn't cover Pierre-Luc Dubois, who was wide open for the pass from Protas and subsequent score to put the Caps up 2-0 quickly. It was not a great night for our Olympians.
Anyways, despite my apparent bad-luck-charm status, I'll try to be there next year too. Here's to hoping I'm due for a win.