Top 3 keys to victory for the Capitals against Kings
The Washington Capitals and Los Angeles Kings go head to head tonight. Here’s how to watch and bet on the game, 3 key players to watch, as well as who to start in your fantasy lineup.
Here are the top 3 keys to a Capitals victory:
#3 Get Ovi going
Alex Ovechkin has struggled this season. Sure five goals is good for any player at this stage in the season but he usually has 10 or more this time of year. In fact, Ovechkin’s start to the season was so horrid that Chris Morgan of Yahoo Sports said he is a winger to avoid in fantasy.
We chose John Carlson instead but here’s what Morgan said about Ovechkin:
Sure, Ovechkin has been unlucky, as he has a 7.1 shooting percentage, but his production has still not been on his expected level. Talbot has a 2.02 GAA and .932 save percentage, and the Kings also have the first-ranked penalty kill. That’s a concern, given Ovechkin’s usual production on the power play.
If the Kings are ranked first in the penalty kill that is bad news. Especially for a Capitals team that went from the best power play in the early part of Ovi’s career to the worst power play this season.
#2 Let the kids play
This would’ve been a clamoring if this was last season. But this is more of a let the kids keep playing and producing. Through 18 games this season, Capitals skaters 27 years of age and younger have accounted for 54.5 percent of the team’s goals.
That’s equivalent of 23 of their 42 goals as a team. They’ve also contributed to 49.1 percent of he team’s points with 55 of 112 total points.
Through the first 18 games of last season, skaters 27 years of age and younger on the Capitals accounted for just 21.2 percent of their goals. What a difference a year makes.
Connor McMichael has recorded five points with two goals and three assists in his last eight games. Reminder that the forward is 22 and was drafted by the Capitals in the first round in 2019.
Defenseman Alex Alexeyev scored his first career NHL goal on Nov. 22 against the Buffalo Sabres. He’s 24 and was taken by the Caps in the first round of the draft a year before McMichael.
Forwards Aliaksei Protas and Hendrix Lapierre each recorded a goal and two assists in the Caps win on Nov. 18 against the Columbus Blue Jackets which marked their first career three point games.
So yeah keep it going kids! You’re doing great.
#1 Lineup tweaks for better offense?
At the Capitals optional morning skate Hendrix Lapierre took the scratches skate with Alex Alexeyev and Lucas Johansen. It appears with that it means Nicolas Aube Kubel will draw back into the lineup.
While this is a minor tweak to the lineup we can’t stress enough that the Capitals offense needs to step up and score more goals. The Caps outshot the San Jose Sharks the other night 34-23 but only had one goal to show for it.
The Caps rank second to last in the NHL in goals scored with 42. Only the team they lost to on Monday night, the Sharks, have scored less goals this season. But they had more goals than them on Monday night by one.
Head Coach Spencer Carbery told Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post (subscription required), “When you don’t score, it starts to get in your head a little bit.”
It’s no secret that scoring goals isn’t just a physical thing but mostly a mental thing and as the Caps have scored less, their confidence is lower.
light. Trending. Sit John Carlson vs Kings in fantasy matchup
Washington’s shooting percentage is 8.0 which also ranks 31st in the NHL. Whether it’s five on five or the power play, Caps need to score aplenty tonight. Though it may be more difficult on the power play than ever as the Kings have the best PK in the league.