WASHINGTON (AP) — Logan Thompson and Tom Wilson have been getting plenty of buzz as possible Olympic options for Team Canada.
Now another Washington standout, Jakob Chychrun, has entered the conversation — especially after scoring twice against the Toronto Maple Leafs, of all teams.
“Doesn't hurt his case that that's on Sportsnet tonight,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said, referring to the Canadian sports network.
If Thursday night was an audition of sorts in front of a Canadian TV audience, Washington's 4-0 win over the Maple Leafs was an impressive showing for both Chychrun and Thompson. The latter made 22 saves for his second shutout of the season.
Thompson called it Washington's best game of the season. It was certainly a step up from the team's recent trip, when the Capitals lost to Winnipeg and Minnesota by a combined score of 10-1.
“Honestly a perfect game,” Thompson said. “We weren't happy the last two performances.”
The Capitals finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference last season, but when players were selected for the 4 Nations Face-Off, only Washington didn't have anyone picked. That's not likely to be repeated for the upcoming Milan Cortina Olympics.
Wilson leads the Capitals in goals with 17, and Chychrun is up to 14, the same number as Alex Ovechkin. Chychrun now leads all NHL defensemen in that category.
“His skill level, we've all seen it since day one of his tenure here. It's incredible,” Capitals defenseman John Carlson said. “You give a guy like that some confidence and some runway, and he's playing awesome.”
Thompson, meanwhile, improved to 14-7-3, lowered his goals-against average to 2.00 and increased his save percentage to .925. Only Jesper Wallstedt of Minnesota — a native of Sweden — ranks ahead of Thompson in those last two categories.
The Capitals set the tone for the night when they limited Toronto to four shots on goal in the first period, even though the Maple Leafs had three power plays in those first 20 minutes.
“They had way more urgency in their game, more passion in their game,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “That's the difference.”
Asked for an explanation for that, given the Maple Leafs' spot near the bottom of the Atlantic Division, Berube said: “Ask those guys, not me.”
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Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson, left, celebrates with right wing Brandon Duhaime (22) after an NHL hockey game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun (6) celebrates after his goal with defenseman John Carlson (74) during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
The Bank of Japan raised its key policy rate to a 30-year high on Friday in a widely anticipated move that could rattle world markets.
The two-day BOJ policy meeting wrapped up with the 0.25% hike in its benchmark short-term rate. That took the policy rate to 0.75%, its highest level since September 1995.
In a statement, the central bank said the decision was unanimous and that it expected to raise rates further if there are no major changes in the outlook for the economy.
The 0.75% rate is still low by most standards, but the BOJ has kept that rate near or below zero for years, trying to pull the economy out of a deflationary funk. Since the pandemic, most other central banks, like the U.S. Federal Reserve, have raised rates to counter spiking inflation and then begun cutting them to help their slowing economies recover momentum.
Japan’s own economy contracted at a 2.3% annual rate in the last quarter, but improved business sentiment and price pressures have led the BOJ to relent and raise rates. Here are some things to know about its decision.
Since Japan's economic bubble burst in the early 1990s, the central bank has kept borrowing costs low to encourage more spending by businesses and consumers.
Lower interest rates have also helped the central bank manage the country's massive national debt, which amounts to nearly triple the size of the economy.
As Japan’s population has aged and begun declining, its economy has slowed and that led to deflation, or falling prices due to weak demand. Even with cheap credit, investment has lagged, stunting economic growth.
In early 2013, the central bank launched what was dubbed a “big bazooka” of monetary easing, cutting interest rates and purchasing government bonds and other securities to help channel more money into the economy. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the benchmark interest rate was at minus 0.1%. The BOJ only began raising it in 2024, the first hike in 17 years, after inflation stabilized above its target of about 2%.
The Japanese yen has weakened against the U.S. dollar and many other major currencies. That has raised the cost, in yen terms, of imported food, fuel and other items needed to keep the world's fourth largest economy running.
The strong appetite for investing in dollar-denominated shares of companies linked to the artificial intelligence boom has also pulled money out of the yen and into dollars.
So inflation has risen faster than wages, squeezing household budgets and raising costs for businesses.
Higher interest rates are expected to raise the value of the yen against the dollar as investments flow into Japan seeking higher yen-denominated yields. Friday's move would signal the central bank's intention of continuing to “normalize” its monetary policy with further rate hikes next year.
“The BOJ’s stance towards rate hikes reflects the fact that inflation is becoming entrenched," Kei Fujimoto, a senior economist at SuMi Trust, said in a commentary. “If drivers such as a further depreciation of the yen accelerate inflation going forward, it is possible that the pace of rate hikes will also increase accordingly.”
The dollar is worth about 156 Japanese yen, nearly twice its level in 2012 and near its highest level this year.
Even small changes in interest rates can have a big impact on markets. A rate hike in Japan would undermine an investment strategy known as the “carry trade.” That involves investors borrowing cheaply in yen and then using that money to invest in higher paying assets elsewhere.
Any such major shift is likely to reverberate across world markets. Carry trades are lucrative when stocks and other investments are climbing, but losses can snowball when many traders face pressure to sell stocks or other assets all at once.
A rate hike also is expected to crimp demand for other assets, including cryptocurrencies. Reports last week that the BOJ would go ahead and raise rates caused the price of bitcoin, for example, to drop below $86,000. The original cryptocurrency had bolted to record highs near $125,000 in early October.
Judging the timing and scale of changes to interest rates and other monetary policies are the biggest challenge for central banks, given the time it takes for such moves to ripple throughout the real economy and financial markets.
Like the Federal Reserve, Japan's central bank struggles to balance the need to boost business activity and create jobs with the imperative of containing inflation.
The BOJ held off on raising rates earlier given uncertainties over how U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs might hit automakers and other exporters. A deal setting U.S. duties on imports from Japan at 15%, down from the earlier plan for a 25% rate, has helped ease those concerns.
BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda has indicated he believes wages will continue to rise in Japan as companies compete for a shrinking pool of workers, helping to support growth.
Market watchers will be watching closely to see what Ueda says Friday about the outlook for future rate increases.
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) Gov. Kazuo Ueda arrives at the headquarters of BOJ in Tokyo, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP)
A general view of a container port seen from a helicopter in Tokyo, on Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
FILE - A Japanese flag flutters at the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo on July 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama, File)
