The Washington Capitals are rolling for the first time in the 2022-2023 season. Winners of three straight, the 13-12-4 Caps will look to keep the good times rolling against the Winnipeg Jets who have started the year an impressive 18-7-1. The Jets themselves have also been all systems go recently, winners of four straight and 8-2 in their last 10 games. This will be a test for a battered Capitals team.
The injury list for the Capitals is longer than a spring cleaning list and it’s gotten even worse as Erik Gustafsson left the morning skate and didn’t return. Darcy Kuemper will head to the IR along with Alex Alexeyev who are both dealing with upper-body injuries. Let’s see if we can keep count of all of the injuries.
The Capitals are now without Gustafsson, Kuemper, Alexeyev, Tom Wilson, Nicklas Backstrom, Dmitry Orlov, and Connor Brown. Sheesh. Deep into the depth chart the Capitals continue to go, recalling Lucas Johansen and Dylan McIlrath from the Hershey Bears ahead of tonight’s tilt and both defensemen will likely suit up against the Jets.
It’s no surprise that the Capitals have scuttled, scoring only 2.83 goals per game to start the year, good for 27th in the league, and for now they will need to continue to rely on backup goaltender, Charlie Lindgren who has been excellent recently. Since being forced into the starter’s role, Lindgren is 3-0 with a save percentage of .953 and a 1.34 goals against average. Needless to say, that isn’t sustainable and the Capitals need to start scoring or they’re going to start to slip down the standings.
It’s not going to be easy against a Jets team that is fourth-best in the league when it comes to stopping their opponent from scoring, allowing only 2.46 goals against per game. In their last seven games, the Jets have given up more than two goals only once, their only loss of the month, a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The mission is clear tonight – score. The Capitals need to score three goals tonight, if they do that, they have a good chance to pull out their fourth straight win, otherwise the Jets will likely pick up their fifth straight win. First team to three goals wins, you heard it here first.
If the Capitals want to pick up the scoring pace while they await the return of their star players, they need more production out of Evgeny Kuznetsov who despite having 21 points in 28 games has only three goals. Kuzy’s killer instinct in the shootout needs to translate into five-on-five play for the Capitals to start scoring more regularly.
Date: 12/11/22
Time: 7 p.m.
Where: Canada Life Centre
What Channel Is The Capitals Game On: NBC Sports Washington
Radio: 106.7 The Fan and Caps Radio 24/7
Betting Odds: The Capitals vs Jets betting odds on Caesars have the Capitals as +1.5 point underdogs on the road. The moneyline is set at +175 for the Capitals and -135 for the Jets with an over/under of 6.0. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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