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Tag: Washington Capitals

  • Gameday Preview – 1/22/2019 – San Jose Sharks v. Washington Capitals

    Gameday Preview – 1/22/2019 – San Jose Sharks v. Washington Capitals

    San Jose Sharks (28-16-7 63pts) v. Washington Capitals (27-16-5 59pts)

     

    Time: 7p EST

    Station: NBC Sports Washington

     

    Preview:

    The Washington Capitals host the San Jose Sharks as they look to end their five game losing streak. The Sharks will be on the back end of their back to back, while the Capitals will be playing their first game of a back to back before the All Star break.

     

    San Jose Sharks:

    Projected Lineup:

    Marcus Sorensen — Joe Thornton — Melker Karlsson

    Timo Meier — Logan Couture — Joe Pavelski

    Evander Kane — Tomas Hertl — Joonas Donskoi

    Lukas Radil — Barclay Goodrow — Kevin Labanc

    Radim Simek — Brent Burns

    Brenden Dillon — Tim Heed

    Marc-Edouard Vlasic — Justin Braun

    Martin Jones

    Aaron Dell

    Scratched: Joakim Ryan, Dylan Gambrell, Jacob Middleton

    Injured: Erik Karlsson (lower body)

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Get an early lead

    The Capitals have been struggling for a while, and the Sharks need to get an early goal to establish themselves in put the Capitals in the hole early.

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Projected Lineup:

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Play Hungry

    The Capitals spent the past two days doing team meetings to get themselves fired up and ready for these next two games going into the All Star break.

  • January 21st, 2019 — News and Notes

    January 21st, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Monday, January 21st, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were five contests in NHL action yesterday.

     

    CHICAGO 8, Washington 5

     

    The Chicago Blackhawks would face off against the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals and would come away with an 8-5 win in Chicago.

     

    This contest would fast and furious for the Chicago Blackhawks and would end the first period with a 3-1 lead, thanks to goals from Brandon Saad and Patrick Kane with the third goal credited to Jonathan Toews.  The third goal would be due to Washington Capitals Dmitry Orlov hitting the puck into his own net.

     

    The second period would get very chippy in the first six minutes of gameplay with six penalties being duelled out within 45 seconds.  Washington would try to get shots in but nothing would hit in the second period, aside from Dmitry Orlov’s goal.  Alex DeBrincat would score for Chicago, making the score 4-2 at the end of the second period.

     

    The third period is when Washington would turn on the jets to make a full comeback and came within a goal to make the contest 5-4, but the comeback would not be enough as Chicago would score three more goals.

     

    Jonathan Toews would score three goals in the contest, giving him his second hat trick on the season.

     

    With an assist from Chicago’s Patrick Kane, he now has sole possession of third place in terms of assists all-time in the long and storied history of the Blackhawks franchise.

    Toews would have his third game in which he registered at least five points in a game.

     

    TXHT has your full recap of the contest at the following page.

     

     

    NY ISLANDERS 3, Anaheim 0

     

    The Metropolitan Division-leading NY Islanders faced off against the slumping Anaheim Ducks and would go on to win this contest 3-0.  With this win by the Islanders, they have now won their last five contests.

     

    This would also be the second consecutive shutout that the Islanders would have in this contest.

     

    VANCOUVER 3, Detroit 2

    Vancouver Canucks rookie phenom Elias Pettersson would return to action in this game and would record one goal and one assist to help lift the Canucks past the Detroit Red Wings by the score of 3-2.

     

    https://twitter.com/Canucks/status/1087139719245230081

     

     

     

     

    Arizona 4, TORONTO 2

    Carolina 7, EDMONTON 4

    Edmonton Oilers Leon Drasital would score two goals for his team but that would not be enough as the Oilers would fall to the Carolina Hurricanes by the score of 7-4.

    For Carolina, the scoring would be often.  Nino Niederreiter would have two goals in the contest and Hurricanes phenom Sebastian Aho would find the score sheet three times with three assists in the start of a road trip for Carolina.  Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin would have three assists of his own in this contest.

     

     

    There are only four games in action today in the NHL.  The first game starts at 3 p.m. with the Nashville Predators visiting the Colorado Avalanche.

     

     

     

     

    NWHL

     

    In NWHL action yesterday, the Minnesota Whitecaps would close out the home portion of the regular season schedule with a win over the Connecticut Whale, sweeping the weekend series.

    The Minnesota Whitecaps would go to throttle the Connecticut Whale by the score of 9-0 in front of another sold-out crowd at TRIA Rink.

    Minnesota’s Jonna Curtis would lead all skaters for the Whitecaps with a goal and three assists in the contest and would once again tie all NWHL skaters for most points on the season.  Curtis has 17 points on the season thus far.

    Kendall Coyne Schofield had two goals and an assist in the contest and Katie McGovern would have two goals of her own.

    Allie Thunstrom would also have a tally and a helper while Emma Stauber had two assists.

    Kalli Funk would go on to net her first career NWHL goal.

    Whitecaps goaltender Julie Friend picked up the shutout in her first career start, recording 18 saves.

    For the Whale, star Meeri Räisänen would leave in the second period due to a collision and Laura Brennan would replace her in net.  Brennan would have 11 saves on 18 attempts while Räisänen had 21 saves on 23 attempts before she had to depart the contest.

    Games coming up for the Connecticut Whale:

    • February 2nd, 2019: at Boston Pride
    • February 24th, 2019: vs. Boston Pride
    • March 2nd, 2019: vs. Buffalo Beauts
    • March 3rd, 2019: vs.  Minnesota Whitecaps

     

    Games coming up for the Minnesota Whitecaps:

    • March 2nd, 2019: at Boston Pride
    • March 3rd, 2019: at Connecticut Whale

     

     

     

     

  • Game Recap – 1/20/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Chicago Blackhawks

    Game Recap – 1/20/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Chicago Blackhawks

    Washington Capitals (27-15-5 59pts) v. Chicago Blackhawks (16-24-9 41pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals started the game strong as they drew an early penalty, but despite generating some really good opportunities the Capitals would not be able to capitalize on their first powerplay. But the Chicago Blackhawks would be able to weather the Capitals early surge as a great individual effort by Brandon Saad to break past the Capitals defense to get the first goal of the game. Then 80 seconds later Jonathan Toews would feed Patrick Kane for his 28th of the season and a 2-0 Blackhawks lead. However, the Capitals would respond with a goal of their own as Brooks Orpik throws the puck on net and gets past Collin Delia to cut the lead to one, but then 28 seconds later, the Blackhawks would get their two goal lead back when Dmitry Orlov accidentally batted the puck into the net while trying to knock it out of the air.

     

    The start of the second period would not be kind to the Capitals as another defensive breakdown would leave Alex DeBrincat open to give the Blackhawks a 4-1 lead. However, the Capitals would show some life and with a strong shift from Lars Eller, Tom Wilson, and Jakub Vrana would generate some scoring chances. then some fireworks would take place as both teams would get into some rough stuff with coincidentals being given to both sides. Then after the dust settled, Michal Kempny would be called for hooking, but the Capitals would kill the penalty. Then a bit later, Orlov would throw a shot from a a bad angle and beat Delia to cut the Blackhawks lead to 2.

     

    The Capitals would start the period very well when Orlov would tee up John Carlson for a one timer to give the Capitals their third goal of the game, but the Blackhawks would respond right away as Nicklas Backstrom would take an ill advised penalty that lead to a Patrick Kane powerplay goal. Then on another defensive breakdown Jonathan Toews would score his second of the game to give the Blackhawks a three goal lead. However, the Capitals would not lie down as they would get another goal from Carlson on a great play. Then Matt Niskanen would score off of a great play set up by Travis Boyd as the Capitals cut the Blackhawks lead to one. However, some sloppy play by Orlov agaist Toews one on one would result in Toews netting his third of the game to give Chicago the 7-5 lead. Then Dylan Strome would net the empty netter to ice the game for the Blackhawks 8-5, and giving the Capitals their fifth consecutive loss.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Lars Eller — Tom Wilson

    Andre Burakovsky — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Dmitry Orlov — John Carlson

    Michal Kempny — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Madison Bowey

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Travis Boyd, Dmitrij Jaskin, Jonas Siegenthaler

    Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh)

     

    Chicago Blackhawks:

    Drake Caggiula — Jonathan Toews — Patrick Kane

    Alex DeBrincat — Dylan Strome — Dominik Kahun

    Brandon Saad — David Kampf — Marcus Kruger

    John Hayden — Artem Anisimov — Chris Kunitz

    Duncan Keith — Brent Seabrook

    Carl Dahlstrom — Connor Murphy

    Slater Koekkoek — Erik Gustafsson

    Collin Delia

    Cam Ward

    Scratched: Henri Jokiharju

    Injured: Corey Crawford (concussion), Gustav Forsling (upper torso), Brendan Perlini (concussion protocol)

     

    First Period:

    Blackhawks Penalty – 1:39 – Erik Gustafsson 2 minutes for Cross Checking

    Blackhawks Goal – 6:36 – Brandon Saad (15) from David Kampf (12)

    Blackhawks Goal – 7:56 – Patrick Kane (28) from Jonathan Toews (25) and Brent Seabrook (14)

    Capitals Goal – 14:25 – Brooks Orpik (2) from Brett Connolly (16) and Lars Eller (15)

    Blackhawks Goal – 14:53 – Jonathan Toews (19) from unassisted

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 1       CHI – 3

    Shots              15                09

    Faceoffs         09                06

    Hits               15                  11

    PP                 0/1                 0/0

     

    Second Period:

    Blackhawks Goal – 2:30 – Alex DeBrincat (25) from Dylan Strome (13) and Duncan Keith (20)

    Capitals Penalty – 4:44 – Alex Ovechkin 2 minutes for Roughing

    Blackhawks Penalty – 4:44 – Connor Murphy 2 minutes for Roughing

    Blackhawks Penalty – 5:23 – David Kampf 2 minutes for Hooking

    Blackhawks Penalty – 5:23 – Duncan Keith 2 minutes for Slashing

    Capitals Penalty – 5:23 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Roughing

    Capitals Penalty – 5:23 – Devante Smith-Pelly 2 minutes for Unsportsmanlike Conduct

    Capitals Penalty – 9:24 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Goal – 15:24 – Dmitry Orlov (3) from Matt Niskanen (12) and Andre Burakovsky (5)

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 2        CHI – 4

    Shots               24                 21

    Faceoffs          15                 19

    Hits                 26                  19

    PP                   0/1                  0/1

     

    Third Period:

    Capitals Goal – 3:09 – John Carlson (7) from Dmitry Orlov (12) and TJ Oshie (8)

    Capitals Penalty – 3:32 – Nicklas Backstrom 2 minutes for Hooking

    Blackhawks PPG – 3:45 – Patrick Kane (29) from Jonathan Toews (26) and Dylan Strome (14)

    Blackhawks Penalty – 4:21 – Artem Anisimov 2 minutes for Delay of Game

    Blackhawks Goal – 7:20 – Jonathan Toews (20) from Patrick Kane (39) and Carl Dahlstrom (6)

    Capitals Goal – 10:38 – John Carlson (8) from Nicklas Backstrom (35) and TJ Oshie (9)

    Capitals Goal – 13:55 – Matt Niskanen (6) from Travis Boyd (10) and Andre Burakovsky (6)

    Blackhawks Goal – 14:57 – Jonathan Toews (21) from Patrick Kane (40)

    Blackhawks ENG – 18:11 – Dylan Strome (11) from unassisted

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 5         CHI – 8

    Shots              39                   28

    Faceoffs        29                    33

    Hits               35                     29

    PP                 0/2                    1/2

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (27-16-5 59pts) v. San Jose (28-15-7 63pts)

    Chicago (17-24-9 43pts) v. NY Islanders (28-15-4 60pts)

  • Gameday Preview – 1/20/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Chicago Blackhawks

    Gameday Preview – 1/20/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Chicago Blackhawks

    Washington Capitals (27-15-5 59pts) v. Chicago Blackhawks (16-24-9 41pts)

     

    Time: 1230p EST

    Station: NBC

     

    Preview:

    The Washington Capitals head to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks for a 1230p matinee on NBC. The Capitals will be looking to end their four game losing streak, while the Blackhawks will be looking to get themselves back in the win column as well.

    https://twitter.com/CapitalsPR/status/1086665683314896897

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Projected Lineup:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Lars Eller — Tom Wilson

    Andre Burakovsky — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Dmitry Orlov — John Carlson

    Michal Kempny — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Madison Bowey

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Travis Boyd, Dmitrij Jaskin, Jonas Siegenthaler

    Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh)

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Smarter decisions

    The Capitals need to make smarter decisions both with and without the puck. There have been too many instances of over passing or overthinking plays. The Capitals just need to simplify their game and play smart.

     

    Chicago Blackhawks:

    Projected Lineup:

    Drake Caggiula — Jonathan Toews — Patrick Kane

    Alex DeBrincat — Dylan Strome — Dominik Kahun

    Brandon Saad — David Kampf — Marcus Kruger

    John Hayden — Artem Anisimov — Chris Kunitz

    Duncan Keith — Brent Seabrook

    Carl Dahlstrom — Connor Murphy

    Slater Koekkoek — Erik Gustafsson

    Collin Delia

    Cam Ward

    Scratched: Henri Jokiharju

    Injured: Corey Crawford (concussion), Gustav Forsling (upper torso), Brendan Perlini (concussion protocol)

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Get a good start

    The Blackhawks need stronger starts to their games, and with a Capitals team that is struggling as of late, an early start could give the Blackhawks the opportunity to put the momentum in their favor.

  • January 19th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Saturday, January 19th, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were 7 games on the NHL schedule yesterday.

     

    FLORIDA 3, Toronto 1

    After Toronto’s Ron Hainsey scored the first goal of the game, the Florida Panthers would score three unanswered goals to go on to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs.

     

     

    Montreal 4, COLUMBUS 1

    The Montreal Canadiens would face off against the Columbus Blue Jackets in a key game for Columbus in the Metro division standings.  However, the Montreal Canadiens would soundly defeat the Blue Jackets by the score of 4-1.

     

     

    NY Islanders 2, WASHINGTON 0

    In a key contest for Metropolitan Division standings, the New York Islanders faced off against the Washington Capitals.  The Islanders would go on to defeat the Washington Capitals 2-0, and with that win, the Islanders now hold first place in the Metro division.

    During a pre-game presentation the Capitals honoured Brooks Orpik who recently played in his 1,000th NHL contest as well as the Capitals showing a video tribute for former Capitals Head Coach Barry Trotz, who stepped down from the position over the summer.  Trotz is now the Head Coach for the New York Islanders.

     

    TXHT was LIVE at the contest last night and you can check out the full recap of the contest at the following page.

     

     

    Ottawa 4, CAROLINA 1

     

    With the 4-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators last night, the five game winning streak on home ice came to an end for the Carolina Hurricanes.

     

     

     

     

     

    CALGARY 6, Detroit 4

    Infographic between the Calgary Flames and the Detroit Red Wings

     

     

    Pittsburgh 3, ARIZONA 2 (OT)

     

     

     

     

    VANCOUVER 4, Buffalo 3

     

    https://twitter.com/Canucks/status/1086515611990077440

     

     

    Today’s schedule of contests across the NHL…

     

    This weekend’s NWHL Contests…

  • Game Recap – 1/18/2019 – New York Islanders v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 1/18/2019 – New York Islanders v. Washington Capitals

    New York Islanders (27-15-4 58pts) v. Washington Capitals (27-14-5 59pts)

     

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals , who are looking to end their three game losing streak, did not start well when Nicklas Backstrom would take a hooking penalty 10 seconds into the game. However the Capitals would kill the New York Islanders first opportunity. Then after some back and forth, Tom Wilson would draw a tripping call to give the Capitals their first powerplay opportunity, which had some good looks, but could not convert. Both teams would generate some good chances, but both Braden Holtby and Thomas Greiss would stand tall in net.

     

    To start the period, the Capitals would draw a penalty 57 seconds into the second period, however, they would not generate much with the opportunity. After a lot of back and forth, Nic Dowd would take a late tripping penalty, but with some key blocks by Brooks Orpik the Capitals were able to kill the penalty.

     

    The Capitals would start the period rocky as they had trouble maintaining the puck, and turnovers were a plenty. As a result Josh Bailey would tip in a Mathew Barzal point shot to get the Islanders the first goal of the game. Then not that long after, Cal Clutterbuck would score to make it 2-0 for the Islanders while on a 2 on 0 break. The Capitals, however, would never recover and drop their fourth straight game, and falling in the Metropolitan Division standings.

     

    Lineups:

    New York Islanders:

    Anders Lee — Brock Nelson — Jordan Eberle

    Anthony Beauvillier — Mathew Barzal — Josh Bailey

    Michael Dal Colle — Valtteri Filppula — Leo Komarov

    Matt Martin — Casey Cizikas — Cal Clutterbuck

    Nick Leddy — Johnny Boychuk

    Adam Pelech — Ryan Pulock

    Devon Toews — Scott Mayfield

    Thomas Greiss

    Robin Lehner

    Scratched: Ross Johnston, Luca Sbisa, Tom Kuhnhackl

    Injured: Thomas Hickey (upper body), Andrew Ladd (lower body)

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Jonas Siegenthaler

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Travis Boyd, Madison Bowey, Dmitrij Jaskin

    Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Penalty – :10 – Nicklas Backstrom 2 minutes for Hooking

    Islanders Penalty – 8:17 – Casey Cizikas 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 1st – NYI – 0       WAS – 0

    Shots              11                07

    Faceoffs         10                07

    Hits               08                  08

    PP                 0/1                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Islanders Penalty – :57 – Adam Pelech 2 minutes for Holding

    Capitals Penalty – 16:13 – Nic Dowd 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 2nd – NYI – 0        WAS – 0

    Shots               20                 15

    Faceoffs          20                 12

    Hits                 12                  13

    PP                   0/2                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    Islanders Goal – 5:08 – Josh Bailey (11) from Mathew Barazl (31) and Adam Pelech (6)

    Islanders Goal – 7:34 – Cal Clutterbuck (4) from Casey Cizikas (9) and Adam Pelech (7)

     

    End of 3rd – NYI – 2         WAS – 0

    Shots              25                   19

    Faceoffs        25                    21

    Hits               18                     20

    PP                 0/2                    0/2

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (27-14-5 59pts) @ Chicago (4-1-0 8pts)

    NY Islanders (27-15-4 58pts) v. San Jose (2-2-1 5pts)

  • Gameday Preview – 1/18/2019 – New York Islanders v. Washington Capitals

    Gameday Preview – 1/18/2019 – New York Islanders v. Washington Capitals

    New York Islanders (27-15-4 58pts) v. Washington Capitals (27-14-5 59pts)

     

    Time: 730p EST

    Station: NBC Sports Washington, MSG+, and SportsNet 1

     

    Preview:

    The Washington Capitals host the New York Islanders as he makes his first trip back to DC after leading the Capitals to the Stanley Cup this past summer. The Capitals will look to end their three game losing streak and keep themselves atop the Metropolitan Division.

     

    New York Islanders:

    Projected Lineup:

    Anders Lee — Brock Nelson — Jordan Eberle

    Anthony Beauvillier — Mathew Barzal — Josh Bailey

    Tom Kuhnhackl — Valtteri Filppula — Leo Komarov

    Matt Martin — Casey Cizikas — Cal Clutterbuck

    Nick Leddy — Johnny Boychuk

    Adam Pelech — Ryan Pulock

    Devon Toews — Scott Mayfield

    Thomas Greiss

    Robin Lehner

    Scratched: Ross Johnston, Michael Dal Colle, Luca Sbisa

    Injured: Thomas Hickey (upper body), Andrew Ladd (lower body)

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Keep up the quick starts

    The last two games the Islanders have jumped to 3 goal leads early, and with the struggles the Capitals have been going through lately it would benefit the Islanders to get a quick lead to start this game as well.

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Projected Lineup:

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Get a good start

    The Capitals need a good start to get their game going in a positive way. If the Capitals can score the first goal, or get an early powerplay which can get them generating offensively it will push away some of those negative vibes.

  • TXHT Podcast – 1/17/2019

    TXHT Podcast – 1/17/2019

    The TXHT podcast is back with Serious Hockey Talk for Serious Hockey Fans!

     

    Audio Version:

     

    YouTube Version:

     

    This week on TXHT, Michael Lindenbaum is joined by our friend from The Hockey Writers Nate Oliver, and TXHT’s Toronto Maple Leafs writer Steve Gardiner.

     

    TXHT starts off with NWHL talk with Michael and Nate as we review the partnership between the NHL’s Boston Bruins and the NWHL’s Boston Pride. Plus a recap of last weekend’s action, as well as a preview for this upcoming weekend’s games. Also we talk about some other news and notes throughout the NWHL.

     

    Then Michael opens up the forum to Nate and Steve as they ask him questions about Alex Ovechkin, Madison Bowey, and the Capitals future on defense.

     

    Plus Michael and Steve talk about the Maple Leafs and the situation with the fans booing defenseman Jake Gardiner, and the slippery slope that is the growing negativity of “fans” on social media. Also all three geek out over hockey cards and some of their prized items in their memorabilia collections.

     

    This week’s episode was recorded on Wednesday, January 16th, 2019

    Opening Music: “Human Chess” by Crimson Orchid

     

    Have a question you want answered on the show? Ask us! Comment on here or on one of our Social Media outlets, and we’ll answer it.

  • Game Recap – 1/15/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Nashville Predators

    Game Recap – 1/15/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Nashville Predators

    Washington Capitals (27-13-5 59pts) v. Nashville Predators (27-16-4 58pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    To start this game, there was some good pace between both the Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators, but it would be the Predators who would strike first when they pick off a pass from Tom Wilson to Alex Ovechkin and Mattias Ekholm sends Viktor Arvidsson streaking into the Capitals zone for the first goal of the game. The Capitals would respond well with a couple shifts, but their aggressiveness caused them to give up a few too many odd man rushes and the Predators would capitalize as Nick Bonino would score to make it 2-0 on a 2-1 break with Colton Sissons. The rest of the period would show some more good back and forth, but the Predators were very good at creating odd man rushes, and breaking up the Capitals plays in the offensive zone.

     

    To start the second period, the Predators would strike fast as Arvidsson would deflect a PK Subban point shot for his second goal of the game. Then some frustration would boil over as Jakub Vrana would get called for Slashing in the neutral zone behind the play to give the Predators the first powerplay of the game. Once the penalty was killed the Capitals would surge with a really strong shift that featured Wilson almost scoring but getting the post instead, and eventually drawing a penalty against the Predators for their first powerplay of the game. On the powerplay the Capitals would make the penalty killers move around and scramble, and then it would be a point blast from John Carlson that would go wide on purpose for Nicklas Backstrom to tip in for the powerplay goal. The Capitals would keep that fire burning as they would dominate at 5 on 5 for the next few shifts, and draw another tripping penalty on the Predators to go back on the powerplay. However, a horrible zone entry by Backstrom would result in Ryan Johansen chipping the puck up to Arvidsson who would score his second breakaway goal for the hat trick. Then on a one on one play into the zone, despite Jonas Siegenthaler’s best efforts, Rocco Grimaldi would make a really good move and an even better backhand shot to beat Pheonix Copley to make it 5-1. Then in the wanning seconds of the second period, Nick Bonino would tip in a point from Mattias Ekholm to make it 6-1.

     

    The 3rd period happened. Cool if we don’t talk about it? Yea… Thanks for understanding.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Dmitrij Jaskin — Nic Dowd — Travis Boyd

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Jonas Siegenthaler

    Pheonix Copley

    Braden Holtby

    Scratched: Devante Smith-Pelly, Chandler Stephenson, Madison Bowey

    Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh)

     

    Nashville Predators:

    Filip Forsberg — Ryan Johansen — Viktor Arvidsson

    Kevin Fiala — Colton Sissons — Craig Smith

    Calle Jarnkrok — Nick Bonino — Austin Watson

    Ryan Hartman — Frederick Gaudreau — Rocco Grimaldi

    Roman Josi — P.K. Subban

    Mattias Ekholm — Ryan Ellis

    Dan Hamhuis — Yannick Weber

    Juuse Saros

    Pekka Rinne

    Scratched: Zac Rinaldo, Matt Irwin, Anthony Bitetto

    Injured: Miikka Salomaki (upper body), Kyle Turris (lower body)

     

    First Period:

    Predators Goal – 3:45 – Viktor Arvidsson (15) from Mattias Ekholm (29) and Filip Forsberg (9)

    Predators Goal – 10:33 – Nick Bonino (10) from Colton Sissons (12)

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 0       NAS – 2

    Shots              08                09

    Faceoffs         10                07

    Hits               09                  05

    PP                 0/0                 0/0

     

    Second Period:

    Predators Goal – 1:21 – Viktor Arvidsson (16) from PK Subban (14) and Ryan Johansen (33)

    Capitals Penalty – 1:55 – Jakub Vrana 2 minutes for Slashing

    Predators Penalty – 6:01 – PK Subban 2 minutes for Tripping

    Capitals PPG – 7:07 – Nicklas Backstrom (12) from John Carlson (37) and Alex Ovechkin (19)

    Predators Penalty – 11:41 – Calle Jarnkrok 2 minutes for Tripping

    Predators SHG – 12:08 – Viktor Arvidsson (17) from Ryan Johansen (34)

    Predators Goal – 14:57 – Rocco Grimaldi (4) from unassisted

    Predators Penalty – 16:08 – Austin Watson 5 minute major for Fighting

    Capitals Penalty – 16:08 – Tom Wilson 5 minute major for Fighting

    Capitals Penalty – 17:05 – Evgeny Kuznetsov 2 minutes for Hooking

    Predators Goal – 19:54 – Nick Bonino (11) from Mattias Ekholm (30) and Ryan Hartman (7)

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 1        NAS – 6

    Shots               18                 20

    Faceoffs          17                 21

    Hits                 17                  10

    PP                   1/2                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 4:54 – John Carlson 2 minutes for Slashing

    Predators Goal – 7:56 – Calle Jarnkrok (8) from Kevin Fiala (20)

    Capitals Penalty – 7:56 – John Carlson 2, 10, and Game for Unsportsmanlike Conduct

    Predators Penalty – 15:24 – PK Subban for Misconduct

    Capitals Penalty – 15:24 – Tom Wilson for Misconduct

    Capitals Goal – 16:11 – TJ Oshie (14) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (30) and Jakub Vrana (11)

    Capitals Penalty – 18:58 – Evgeny Kuznetsov 2 minutes for Slashing

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 2         NAS – 7

    Shots              28                   29

    Faceoffs        30                    28

    Hits               27                     12

    PP                 1/2                    0/5

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (27-14-5 59pts) v. NY Islanders (26-15-4 56pts)

    Nashville (28-16-4 60pts) v. Winnipeg (30-14-2 62pts)

  • Gameday Preview – 1/15/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Nashville Predators

    Gameday Preview – 1/15/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Nashville Predators

    Washington Capitals (27-13-5 59pts) v. Nashville Predators (27-16-4 58pts)

     

    Time: 8p EST

    Station: NBC Sports Washington, Fox Sports Tennessee, and SportsNet

     

    Preview:

    The Washington Capitals head to Nashville for the second game of their back to back as they take on the Predators. The Capitals who are struggling are looking to turn the tide and do so against the Predators. Biggest question is will the Capitals come to play, or will they go through the motions like they did last night against St. Louis?

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Projected Lineup:

    Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Brett Connolly — Lars Eller — Travis Boyd

    Chandler Stephenson — Andre Burakovsky — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Brooks Orpik — Madison Bowey

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Nic Dowd, Jonas Siegenthaler, Dmitrij Jaskin

    Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh)

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Play motivated

    The Capitals need to come out and play with some urgency because lately they look like they’ve been going through the motions, and that’s not good enough. The Capitals need to play motivated and play their game seriously and not lackadaisically.

     

    2. Stop being predictable

    The Capitals right now are very predictable with how they are playing and teams are exploiting that to their benefit. The Capitals need to mix it up, especially on the powerplay, and challenge the Predators.

     

    Nashville Predators:

    Projected Lineup:

    Filip Forsberg — Ryan Johansen — Viktor Arvidsson

    Kevin Fiala — Colton Sissons — Craig Smith

    Calle Jarnkrok — Nick Bonino — Austin Watson

    Ryan Hartman — Frederick Gaudreau — Rocco Grimaldi

    Roman Josi — Ryan Ellis

    Mattias Ekholm — P.K. Subban

    Dan Hamhuis — Matt Irwin

    Juuse Saros

    Pekka Rinne

    Scratched: Anthony Bitetto, Zac Rinaldo, Phillip Di Giuseppe

    Injured: Yannick Weber (undisclosed), Kyle Turris (lower body), Miikka Salomaki (upper body)

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Force the play

    The Capitals have been struggling at all aspects of the game lately and the Predators will need to exploit that to their advantage.