Capitals: Top 3 key players to watch against Avalanche

The Washington Capitals embark on a three-game west coast road trip that begins tonight against the Colorado Avalanche.

Alex Ovechkin continues his quest for 700 goals as the Washington Capitals take the show on the road beginning in Colorado in yet another nationally televised tilt. The Caps will look to snap a two-game slide and get back to the winning formula that catapulted them to the top of the NHL standings much of the season.

Now they’ve dipped a tad bit. While they still have a three-point grip on the Metropolitan Division, they’ve dropped to third in the league behind the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins. The defending eastern conference champs are now the front runners in the Presidents Trophy which may be a good thing for the Capitals.

The last time the Capitals and Avalanche met was in D.C. back in October where the Avs came away with a 6-3 win. Former Capital Andre Burakovsky made his return and assisted on their first goal. Lars Eller, T.J. Oshie and Alex Ovechkin scored for the Caps.

Speaking of Burakovsky, he’s been doing great his first season in the Rocky Mountains. He’s third on the team in points with 41 with 17 goals and 24 assists.

Here are the top 3 Capitals players to watch tonight in the “Burakovksy Cup”.

T.J. Oshie

T.J. Oshie had a goal the other night against the New York Islanders, the second straight game he lit the lamp for “Country Roads” to play over the speakers at Capital One Arena. Oshie has scored in three of his last five games. Oshie has scored eight points in his last eight games with three goals and five assists. He’s on fire with a three-game point streak.

Oshie ranks third on the team with 21 goals and is on pace to reach the 30 goal mark for the second time since the 2016-17 season when he recorded 33 goals. Oshie also has 21 assists for 41 points.

Oshie’s goals the last two games have come from both sides of the face-off circle. The first was a power play strike on the right side against the Philadelphia Flyers that tied the game. That was the most exciting part in an otherwise crappy game that saw the Caps lose in blowout fashion 7-2.

In another game Monday night when fans expected to see Alex Ovechkin fire in two from the office for 700 got an Oshie goal from the office instead. It’s great to see Oshie have a 20-goal season again especially after the way his season ended a year ago. It also comes as no surprise.

John Carlson

John Carlson had a goal and an assist in Monday night’s defeat to the Islanders. It might have been one of the rare times Capitals fans booed Carlson as they initially thought the puck went off Ovechkin giving him 699. Sadly it wasn’t the case and the Capitals also lost 5-3.

Despite the loss, Carlson continued his case for the Norris Trophy. He has 52 assists which leads all defensemen and is second in the NHL to Leon Draisaitl who has 57 helpers. Carlson reached the 50 assist total in his 54th game and he’s the NHL’s fifth different defensemen in the last 30 years to reach that mark in 54 games or fewer.

Carlson also has 22 multi-point games which is eight more than the next closest defensemen, which is Nashville’s Roman Josi who has 14. It’s the third most multi-point games by a defensemen over the last five seasons and there’s still 26 games to spare. Carlson is on pace for 98 points by seasons end but can he get to 100 and put a stamp on a season where he should take home the Norris Trophy?

Not only is Carlson important for the Capitals now but he’s going to be important the next few seasons no matter who is in goal. It’s time for the defense to step up.