Washington Capitals Matthew Phillips scores first career goal, fueled by support of family

WASHINGTON (7News) — Plenty of new faces make up the Washington Capitals this season.

At 5’8" and 160 pounds, forward Matthew Phillips is among the smallest in the league, but he has already put himself on the map.

“It’s something I’ve kind of done in my head about a million times,” Phillips said. “To have it come against a team I was with since I was drafted in 2016 felt pretty good.”

On October 16, Phillips scored his first National Hockey League (NHL) career goal at Capital One Arena. It just so happened to be against his former team, the Calgary Flames.

Unlike the ice he skates on, Phillips' journey through professional hockey has never been smooth. After six years of struggling to crack the Flames' roster, Phillips came to D.C. as a free agent over the summer.

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“Confidence can be a big thing too,” Phillips said. “I’ve learned that as I’ve gone through hockey that there are going to be days that you feel great and some days you feel like you should shoot your other hand.”

Phillips told 7News Sports Reporter Natalie Spala that a lot of his confidence comes from the support of his family, especially his 87-year-old grandfather. Don Winsor is a former sports columnist of Happy Adventure, Newfoundland whose connections often landed him in the press box of the Flames’ Scotiabank Saddledome.

“He would ramble on to anyone who’d listen about how this little 4-year-old kid was going to play in the NFL and stuff, so he’s always been my biggest supporter,” Phillips said.

More than 1,700 miles away, Winsor is always a part of his grandson’s pregame routine.

“He’ll send me a text pretty much every game day,” Phillips said. “He loves to say, ‘dedication and commitment will take you a long way’ and that’s something I’ve always tried to take with me."