Top 3 key Capitals to watch against Blue Jackets
We are just moments away from the Washington Capitals taking on the Columbus Blue Jackets at Capital One Arena. These teams met exactly two weeks with the Caps prevailing 2-1 behind goals from Tom Wilson and Sonny Milano.
Last season the Capitals won the season series with Columbus 3-0-1. T.J. Oshie (three goals and one assist), Nick Jensen (two goals and two assists), Evgeny Kuznetsov (one goal and three assists) and Dylan Strome (four assists) led the Capitals in four points in four games against the Blue Jackets last season.
We’ve got one more preview ahead of the 7:30 p.m. tilt with the top 3 key players to watch:
#3 Beck Malenstyn
Beck Malenstyn enters tonight’s game on a career long three game point streak with two goals and one assist. He leads Capitals forwards in blocked shots with 20 and ranks second on the team in hits with 30. Malenstyn has appeared in all 14 of Washington’s games this season, the longest stretch of consecutive games played in his NHL career.
Malenstyn had a sweet goal in the Caps 3-0 win on Tuesday night over the Vegas Golden Knights. After Connor McMichael got an empty net goal, Malenstyn beat the Vegas goalie with a breakaway after stealing the puck at mid ice.
#2 Tom Wilson
Tom Wilson has been big in the Caps hot streak. He’s recorded seven points with three goals and four assists in his last 10 games and ranks tied for third on the Capitals in points with eight this season. He has three goals and five assists in 14 games played.
The Caps are 3-0-0 this season when Wilson scores a goal and 5-2-0 when he records a point. He leads the Capitals in individual scoring chances at five on five with 29 this season, per Natural Stat Trick.
Wilson leads the Capitals and ranks tied for 14th in the NHL in hits with 40 through games played Nov. 16. Since returning to the Capitals lineup on Jan. 8, 2023 following surgery on his ACL, Wilson has recorded 30 points in 47 games.
That’s 16 goals and 14 assists with a points per game percentage of 0.64. Wilson ranks third on Washington in goals behind Dylan Strome with 22 and Alex Ovechkin with 17, and third in points during that span. Strome had 41 points in that stretch while Ovechkin had 38.
Wilson signed a seven year contract extension before the season to avoid free agency this upcoming summer. He is the most important player in both the present and the future of the Capitals.
#1 Charlie Lindgren
If there’s one thing about Charlie Lindgren this season, he’s lights out. He stopped all 35 shots faced on Nov. 14 vs. the Vegas Golden Knights. That marked his first shutout as a Capital and the third of his career. It marked his first shutout since Feb. 26, 2018 when he made 33 saves in a 1-0 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers as a member of the Montreal Canadiens.
In four games played this season, Lindgren has a record of 3-1-0 with a 1.76 goals against average and a .947 save percentage. Among NHL goaltenders with four or more games played, Lindgren ranks first in save percentage with .947 and second in goals against average.
Lindgren has posted a record of 3-0-0 with a 1.01 goals against average and a .969 save percentage over his last three starts. His current three game winning streak is his third win streak of three or more games since joining Washington last season. The other two were from Dec. 5 through 13th, 2022 and Dec. 17 through 31st, 2022.
Lindgren earned his first win of the season two weeks ago on Nov. 4 against the same Columbus Blue Jackets team as he stopped 34 of 35 shots in the Caps 2-1 victory.
More. Top 3 keys to victory for the Capitals against Blue Jackets. light
The game starts at 7:30 and you can tune in on Monumental Sports Network.