The Washington Capitals look to continue their winning ways in Los Angeles against the Kings. Here is how to follow and what to look for in the contest.
The battle of two hot goaltenders wasn’t as competitive as originally thought. After starting the game by letting in a soft goal Holtby shut the door on the Sharks for nearly the entirety of the game.
He would go on to allow another soft goal, although he was screened and pinned against the post low leaving him with 23 stops on 25 shots for the game. The Washington Capitals used the dirty area of the ice to gain the lead, which they wouldn’t let go the rest of the game.
The scoring started with a Hathaway tip in on a Carlson blast. Next came a goal by Jakub Vrana, where you don’t expect it by him punching in his own rebound at the goal mouth. The big three contributors for the game were John Carlson with 1 goal and 2 assists, and both Vrana and Hathaway who each chipped in two goals.
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This game also marked the return of Carl Hagelin to the lineup, he did just enough to get his feet wet after being out for so long. Hagelin registered a shot and a missed shot while playing 12:21 for the game none of which came on special teams.
We are still waiting for the return of Nicklas Backstrom, who is listed as a game time decision for Wednesdays matchup with the Kings.
The sad news from this game is the Capitals nearly made it through the game with no injury concerns until Evander Kane delivered a hit to the head of Radko Gudas. Gudas is now listed as day to day, this will most likely mean he will miss the second on the back to back slate. A great positive to take away from the game overall was the lack a penalty called on the Capitals, and all their goals were produced in a 5 on 5 situation. Hopefully they can carry this momentum onto the next opponent.
The next opponent on the four game road trip is the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings have been going through an up and down season in terms of wins and losses. Overall the team is sitting at the basement of the Pacific Division, with the losses mounting more than the wins as they sport an 11-15-2 record.
This puts them with only three teams below them in the league standings for points. You could say they have no where to go but up, the one bright spot has been the play of their best player Anze Kopitar who had contributed as it has become custom.
As expected of a team near the bottom of the standings, the Kings are third worst in both PK% and PP%. Considering the goal differential the Kings have it’s no wonder why they are struggling, they have scored 72 goals (6th worst) while allowing 93 goals (7th worst).
With the Capitals offense producing and being very proactive with their attacking lately, look for them to apply pressure early and often to get the early lead. The Caps will most likely look to throw their weight around, but will need to be cautious not to draw too many borderline plays which could be called for a penalty. The biggest obstacle the Kings possess right now that might derail the Capitals will be the hazard of being overlooked and underestimated.
The Caps will need to focus on the team in front of them and not look past them simply for them being in the bottom of the standings. With this contest being the second on a back to back stretch of the road trip, the Caps will need to come out ready to play right away instead of starting out too flat. Considering the outcome of the most recent back to back, they should have little issue with this one. Again look for the team to roll with Samsonov in goal.
Here is how to follow along with the action:
Date: Dec. 4th
Time: 10:00 PM EST
Where: Staples Center
TV Broadcast: NBC Sports Washington
Radio: WJFK 106.7 The Fan, Caps Radio 24/7
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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