Scouting behind enemy lines as Capitals prepare for Blackhawks on the road

Tonight the Washington Capitals take on the Chicago Blackhawks looking for two wins in a row after an impressive win last night over the New York Rangers. To prepare for the Blackhawks, we did some scouting on our own.

The Capitals move to fourth place in the Metropolitan Division and third in the wild card with a 13-8-3 record and 29 points. They’re two points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second wild card spot, who beat the Seattle Kraken in overtime last night.

The Blackhawks are coming off a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues, their Central Division rival. They are 9-16-1 with 19 points, last in the Central. Connor Bedard, the 2023 number one pick in the NHL Draft, leads the Blackhawks with 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points.

Thanks to the help of Kyle Graden from FanSided’s Blackhawk Up, we learned a little more about what to expect from the opposition tonight. You can read their version of the preview here.

Graden told us:

“For the first time all season the Chicago Blackhawks are on a winning streak. With the help of Petr Mrazek (one goal allowed over his last six periods), the Hawks have played well of late. Coming into tonight’s matchup with the Capitals, head coach Luke Richardson will continue to rely on the efforts from his bottom six forwards as well as his young defensemen.”

“Jason Dickinson has been a revelation this season and continues to score at will it seems. Last night’s 3-1 win over St. Louis saw four of the six blue liners grab a point including the steady Alex Vlasic, who is blossoming into a confident top four.”

Graden also told me Vlasic is listed as six foot six. He’s been playing awesome hockey and it’ll be tricky for the Caps forwards against a talented blue line.

In last night’s game against the Rangers, the Capitals got goals from all four of their lines so it won’t be easy for the Blackhawks either.