The chase for Gordie Howe and for second place on the NHL all-time goals list continues tonight as Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals will look for their 7th win in their last 8 games. What a coincidence it could be for Alex Ovechkin to tie or even break Mr. Hockey’s goal total of 801 against none other then Gordie’s former team in the Detroit Red Wings, as well as at home in front of a packed house at Capital One Arena.
After coming off a good home win Saturday night against the Maple Leafs, a game where Erik Gustafsson picked up his first career hat-trick and first three goals of the year, the red hot Capitals will look to continue their holiday momentum on what could be another Alex Ovechkin milestone night.
Some positive news with Capitals goaltender, Darcy Kuemper has been cleared to play, but will be backing up Charlie Lindgren tonight in his 8th straight start. Kuemper’s last start came on December 3rd, after taking an elbow from Calgary Flames forward Tyler Toffoli that has kept him out since. On the other side, T.J. Oshie and Nic Dowd have been listed as day-to-day, with Oshie out of the lineup and Dowd to expected to be a game-time decision.
This will be the second meeting between the Capitals and Red Wings this season, where the Red Wings defeated the Capitals 3-1 back on November 3rd.
Here is the Capitals projected lineup for tonight vs. Detroit:
Capitals lines at AM skate vs Detroit:
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) December 19, 2022
Ovechkin-Strome-Sheary
Milano-Kuznetsov-Mantha
Johansson-Eller-NAK
Protas-Dowd-Hathaway
Gustafsson-Carlson
Orlov-Jensen
Irwin-TvR
Goalies: Lindgren, Kuemper
The Capitals have been playing their best hockey of the season recently, and with the positive news on forwards, Tom Wilson and Nicklas Backstrom returning to practice, it is encouraging that this team should hopefully be headed into the right direction for Christmas. A win tonight and an Islanders regulation loss would put the Capitals back into a wildcard spot, something that they’ve seemed to be chasing all season thus far.
The Washington Capitals currently sit in 6th place in a strong Metropolitan division, holding a 16-13-4 record. Alex Ovechkin and company will try to take advantage of a poor looking Red Wings team as of late, who have lost 5 straight and 8 of their last 10. The Capitals currently hold a 4 point lead over the Red Wings, with both teams sitting right outside the playoff picture.
Date: December 19th, 2022
Time: 7 p.m. est.
Where: Capital One Arena
What Channel Is The Capitals Game On: NBC Sports Washington
Radio: 106.7 The Fan and Caps Radio 24/7
Betting Odds: The Red Wings vs. Capitals betting odds on Bet365 have the Capitals as -1.5 favorites at home. The moneyline is set with the Capitals at -180 and the Red Wings at +160. The over/under for tonight’s game is 6.0. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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