The Washington Capitals have had a tough season but have proved themselves worthy of the NHL competition. That doesn’t mean January won’t provide it’s challenges. There will be some tough opponents and today we will break them all down.
Hope you enjoyed your rest from hockey because the Caps will have a challenge right off the bat as they take on the St. Louis Blues, who are in a race with the Nashville Predators for the top spot in the Central Division. The Caps will then face the Minnesota Wild the next night which will prove to be a challenge as they’re just within striking distance in the Central.
The Caps will then return home to take on the Boston Bruins, who are in the second wild card spot as of this writing on Wednesday night. They’re a team you should never count out as they eliminated the Caps in the first round last season in five games. That night is a revenge night for sure. The Caps will see the Bruins again in Boston on the 20th.
After the Bruins, the Caps will have a stretch of easy games which we’ll tackle in another article. Their next and final big challenge of the month will come the 24th in a 2018 Stanley Cup Finals rematch with the Vegas Golden Knights, who are currently first in the Pacific Division.
The Caps vs. overtime is also going to be their toughest matchup. The Caps are 0-7 in 3 on 3 and need to get it going over there. The power play is another challenge and an endless rant.
The games in particular I’m circling on my calendar is that Golden Knights game at the near end of the month. I’m also looking at that road contest with the Blues and that home game this Monday against the Bruins.
I’m intrigued by that Blues matchup to see how the Caps fare with the extra time off away from hockey. There’s also nothing like that Alex Ovechkin vs. Vladimir Tarasenko matchup. Their Russian star leads the Blues with 14 goals and 33 points to go along with 19 assists. Not exactly Ovechkin like numbers but not bad either.
The Caps game against the Bruins Monday night, you heard it here first: it’ll be the first game the Caps win in overtime. I don’t know why, I just have a gut feeling about it. Look out for everyone’s favorite “rat” Brad Marchand as well as Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak.
And then there’s the Golden Knights, their last tough matchup of the month. Those games are always crazy and for good reason. The question is will the rivalry lose it’s flavor with the departure of Marc-Andre Fleury but then there’s former Cap Chandler Stephenson who has thrived over in the desert. He leads them with 24 assists and 34 points to go along with 10 goals. Yeah look out for him.
Those are the toughest matchups for the Capitals this month. Which matchups do you think will present the Caps with the greatest challenges?