Top 3 key Capitals to watch against Avalanche
The Washington Capitals take on the Colorado Avalanche tonight at 9 p.m. at Ball Arena in the final game of their three game, west coast road trip. For more on how to watch and bet on the game, click here.
Alex Ovechkin will be a game time decision tonight. But who are three key Capitals to watch tonight?
#3 Nicolas Aube Kubel
He’s gotten looks on the top line but most importantly Nicolas Aube Kubel has thrived with the Caps. He faces his former team tonight. He was claimed off waivers by Colorado from Philadelphia on Nov. 13, 2021.
He appeared in 14 of Colorado’s 16 playoff games and posted a plus two plus minus rating. He recorded a career high 23 points with 11 goals and 12 assists in 74 games with the Philadelphia Flyers and Colorado in 2021-22. His 123 hits in 67 regular season games with Colorado last season ranked second on the team.
In 23 games with the Caps this season, Aube Kubel has recorded six points with two goals and four assists and a team high 58.8 shot percentage at five on five. The Caps have outscored opponents 10-5 at five on five this season with Aube Kubel on the ice.
He’s done more in hockey than be a meme when he almost dropped the Stanley Cup in the team photo last season. It did hit the ice and cause a dent though.
#2 Evgeny Kuznetsov
Evgeny Kuznetsov has recorded three assists in his last two games and leads the Capitals with 34 assists this season. He tallied two assists in Washington’s 4-0 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night, passing Dale Hunter (375) for the sixth most assists in franchise history.
Kuznetsov has passed Peter Bondra, Bengt Gustafsson, Calle Johansson, and Hunter on the franchise’s all time assist list this season and is now 16 assists shy of passing Mike Gartner (392) for the fifth most assists in team history.
Kuznetsov has a team high seven multi assist games this season and is one multi assist game shy of passing Gustafsson (70) and tying Gartner (71) for the fifth most multi assist games in franchise history.
Kuznetsov’s 34 assists this season rank 15th in the NHL and sixth among centers. He ranks tied for eighth in the NHL in assists at five on five with 19 and tied for 15th in primary assists with 20. He has recorded 24 points with three goals and 21 assists in his last 24 games and ranks second on the Caps with 40 points in 48 games this season.
Kuznetsov has six goals and 34 assists. Although the goal total hasn’t been a lot he’s been doing a good job as a table setting center.
#1 Darcy Kuemper
The number one player to watch tonight is Darcy Kuemper as he faces the offensive weapons from his old team, well minus Andre Burakovsky. Kuemper will look to bounce back from a 6-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights from Saturday night, a game in which he was pulled.
Kuemper posted a record of 37-12-4 with a 2.54 goals against average and a .921 save percentage in 57 games with the Colorado Avalanche last season, ranking tied for fourth in the NHL in wins and shutouts with five while ranking fifth in save percentage.
He currently leads the NHL in shutouts this season with five, matching last season’s number. One more passes it.
He also started in 16 of Colorado’s 20 playoff games, going 10-4 with a 2.57 goals against average and a .902 save percentage. In six Stanley Cup Final games against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Kuemper went 4-2 with a 2.45 goals against average and a .908 save percentage with one shutout.
In 31 games this season, Kuemper has a record of 14-12-4 with a 2.55 goals against average and a .917 save percentage. Dating back to Nov. 23, Kuemper has posted a record of 9-3-3 with four shutouts, a 2.29 goals against average, and a .925 save percentage in his last 16 starts.
Trending. Alex Ovechkin will be a game time decision tonight. light
Kuemper has been a home run of an upgrade at goalie and we thank the Colorado Avalanche for putting him on the market.