Tradition dictates the hockey player's media presence be single-minded, ruthlessly collectivist, and occasionally outright dull.
Once in a blue moon, however, cracks in the armor show. The system glitches, and players' true personalities ever-so-briefly shine forth as they do in other sports.
Take what happened in Washington Wednesday after the Capitals downed the Montreal Canadiens 3–1 to take a 2–0 lead in their first-round series. Capitals goalie Logan Thompson—fresh off 25 saves on 26 shots—even-handedly praised Washington's effort.
"Luckily things went my way tonight, and we got the two points," Thompson said.
There was just one problem with his assessment.
Logan Thompson said the Caps were happy to get two points last night, and Dylan Strome had to remind him it's the playoffs 😅 pic.twitter.com/rKtmmTpswn
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) April 24, 2025
"Playoffs. No two points," center Dylan Strome whispered to Thompson, who chuckled.
"Sorry, win," he whispered, before repeating "win" into the microphone.
The Capitals had the best record in the Eastern Conference this season at 51-22-9, and Thompson won 31 games—six more than his previous career high with the Vegas Golden Knights. You can see how this team is used to vacuuming up points, even if they no longer apply.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Capitals' Logan Thompson Briefly Forgets Team in Playoffs During Press Conference.