The Pregame: Capitals Host Senators Tuesday Night
The Washington Capitals are looking to build on a big overtime win over the Rangers as they welcome the Ottawa Senators to the District. Even though this is a struggling Senators team that lost a few key guys at the trade deadline, this is an opponent the Capitals cannot take lightly. Trailing the first place Islanders by two points in the Metropolitan Division, the Capitals need these two points tonight before the Caps and Isles square off in a big tilt Friday night. Puck drop for tonight’s game is at 7 p.m. and you can watch the game on NBC Sports Washington.
The hero in Sunday’s Captials win was Evgeny Kuznetsov, who practically pushed the puck in at the same time as Alex Ovechkin. It may have looked like Ovechkin had the puck last and not Kuznetsov but in the end it doesn’t matter. The Capitals got two points.
Tonight’s game is the second and final game of the Capitals’ brief two-game homestand before that big Friday night game in New York. Sunday was the first Capitals home game in quite some time, after the team went on a six-game road trip. That’s their longest such trip in 15 years that spanned 12 days from coast to coast.
The Capitals will be facing a different Senators team. They traded Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel to Columbus and Mark Stone to Vegas. A team that just two seasons ago was in overtime in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Penguins is now the worst team in the Eastern Conference. They’re currently 22-35-5 for 49 points, dead last in the Wild Card standings for the East.
The Capitals meanwhile have 77 points (35-21-7), trailing the Islanders by two points for first place in the Metro Division.
They will meet Friday in what is sure to be a great game. But that’s on Friday. Today is Tuesday. The Capitals can’t look ahead to Friday’s game otherwise Tuesday night could be a trap game.
The Capitals have had success against Ottawa this season. They’ve won both December contests in Ottawa that were each on Saturday’s a week apart from each other. The most recent game was on Dec. 29 where the Capitals won 3-2. Tuesday is the third and final meeting between America and Canada’s capitals this season.
According to the game notes, the Capitals have posted an 8-4-1 record since returning from their bye week on Feb. 1. The Capitals are tied for fifth in the NHL with eight wins and tied for fifth in points with 15. In the month of February, the Capitals are tied for second in goals for (42), rank 11th on the power play (21.6) and tied for 11th on the penalty kill (84.2 percent). The Capitals also lead the NHL in blocked shots with 219 since Feb. 1.
What to watch for: Newcomers Carl Hagelin and Nick Jensen each made their home debuts during Sunday’s Capitals game. Hagelin made his Capitals debut the afternoon before in Buffalo. Look for these guys to continue adapting to their new teammates and their new team’s style of play.