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Capitals vs Avalanche: Who steps up and wills the Caps to victory

By David Trice

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 10: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals and Nicklas Backstrom #19 of the Washington Capitals talk to one another against the New York Islanders during the third period at Capital One Arena on February 10, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 10: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals and Nicklas Backstrom #19 of the Washington Capitals talk to one another against the New York Islanders during the third period at Capital One Arena on February 10, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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The Washington Capitals have been mired in an inconsistent period where the team has struggled overall. Can they find a way to get out of this funk while stopping a hot Avalanche team?

The running narrative for the Washington Capitals over the last week or so was the inconsistent play from their number one goalie, Braden Holtby, and whether we were witnessing the changing of the guard.

But as evidenced by the team play Monday night against the New York Islanders, the true crux of their recent struggles surfaced in a big way as they went down 5-3.

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After watching the struggles of Holtby over the last few weeks, when as a Washington Capitals fan you see the hot hand of Ilya Samsonov is called to start against the rival Islanders you have to feel confident in the teams ability to secure a win. Sadly, what we received was confirmation that in fact the goalie play was not the inconsistency in need of improvement.

It’s been known the team has been going through some issues with the overall team defense but not to the extent present in this game. Too many times was Samsonov left with little to no help, and it showed as he would allow 5 goals on 20 shots in about half way through the second period. Once Holtby came on it appeared to wake up the stagnant team effort the Capitals had up to that point.

The Washington Capitals would make it a reachable game again with two scores from Lars Eller and TJ Oshie. Eller followed up his effort in the second period by interviewing and calling out the team for it’s effort up to the point Holtby was put in over Samsonov, the kind of veteran leadership needed in these tough times. But in the third period the Islanders would clamped down defensively and not allow the Capitals to mount another comeback, a la their previous game where the Caps made a comeback from 4-1 to win 6-4.  Will the Capitals use their last few days to work on the team defense and effort?

We will find out tonight when the Capitals face off against the Avalanche. This is the tale of two teams for certain, as the Washington Capitals have been struggling the Colorado team has won 5 in a row.

The Avalanche have arguably one of the best players in the league, Nathan MacKinnon, who is being discussed as a leading candidate for the Hart Trophy. Lost in the shadow of their best player are two ex-Caps players, who are contributing in a big way to the Avalanche’s success this season, Andre Burakovsky and Phillip Grubauer.

Burakovsky has already outdone his best year with the Capitals as he has tied his career high in goals (17) and exceeded his best assists total (24) with 30 games still to go. Grubauer has been the number one goalie that Colorado could hope for with an 18-11-4 record and 0.915 SV% while allowing 2.64 GAA.  Over his last four appearances he has only allowed 3 goals and gave one shutout.

Next. Caps 3 Key Players vs Avalanche. dark

To have the best chance at winning the Washington Capitals will have to exercise good restraint in keeping out of the penalty box. Even though they have the 2nd best PK unit, only because they are the 4th most penalized team, they will be facing a PP unit which sits only two spots behind the Capitals.

The Avalanche also lead the league in drawing penalties as they lead the league in Opponents PIM/game with 10.6 minutes, comparing to the 10.5 PIM/game the Capitals commit it’s almost a mirror image. With the last few days off and Martin Fehervary being returned to the Hershey Bears, look for the Capitals to come out playing a more sound two way game. Can the Capitals make a fair fight for their goalie whoever it may be? Who will come out with the will to push the Capitals to the win?

Here is how to find out:

Date: Thursday. February 13th
Time: 9:30 pm EST
Where: Capital One Arena
TV Broadcast: NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Network
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Caps Radio 24/7
Live Streaming: ESPN+ has a free 7-day trial that includes live streaming for this game on all your smart devices! Besides NHL games, ESPN+ features a selection of live games from MLB, MLS, Serie A, FA Cup, and EFL. Get in on the action with Live UFC Fight Nights, 30+ Top Rank Boxing cards, Grand Slam tennis from Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open.

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