The Washington Capitals are continuing to claw their way up in the standings and will look to start finding some consistency in their game when they take on the St. Louis Blues for the first time this season Thursday night at Capital One Arena. The Capitals are coming off a 2-0 win against the Anaheim Ducks, in what was their first multi-goal win since Dec. 9.
Here are the projected lines.
Max Pacioretty – Dylan Strome – T.J. Oshie
Evgeny Kuznetsov – Hendrix Lapierre – Tom Wilson
Aliaksei Protas – Connor McMichael – Anthony Mantha
Beck Malenstyn – Nic Dowd – Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Martin Fehervary – John Carlson
Alex Alexeyev – Nick Jensen
Joel Edmundson – Ethan Bear
Charlie Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper
Scratches: Alex Ovechkin (lower), Sonny Milano (upper), Rasmus Sandin (upper), Trevor van Riemsdyk, Matthew Phillips, Nicklas Backstrom (hip)
The last time the Capitals won a game by more than a one-goal margin, was when they defeated the New York Rangers 4-0 in early December. Washington has only had five of those all season long. Ethan Bear scored his first goal as a Capital, which was the game-winner, and Tom Wilson put the icing on the cake with an empty net tally. Furthermore, Darcy Kuemper was outstanding pitching a 24-save shutout.
Now it is a question of the Capitals’ play being consistent as the second half of the season continues.
“We know how important this stretch of games is and so I feel confident about our group’s understanding of the urgency level and where it needs to be at, at this point in the year,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said following Wednesday’s practice. “There is a long way to go. But this doesn’t mean a thing if we’re not playing at a high level right now.”
Tuesday’s win also marked the first victory of the second half of the season. While the Capitals have turned the corner since the very start of the season, the offense continues to struggle. But Washington still finds itself very much in the playoff hunt, trailing the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are in the second Wild Card spot, by just one point with two games in hand.
“I think we’re battling… We’re fighting and we’re battling, and it hasn’t always been a Picasso. But we’ve found ways to win, we’re grinding out games, we’re staying in the fight,” Carbery said. “There’s a long way to go but I think our guys should be proud of where we are right now. And then understand the work and the task and the mountain challenge that’s ahead of us isn’t gonna get any easier.”
Alex Ovechkin missed his third straight game due to a lower-body injury. Presumably it was caused after he got tangled up with Carolina Hurricanes forward Jordan Staal. However, Carbery said on The Junkies Wednesday morning that this injury is unrelated to what happened with Staal.
Carbery, via The Junkies, on Ovi: “I would expect him back soon, whether it’s next game or Saturday, the first game of the road trip. Specific to the injury, I don’t think it was that Carolina (game)…when he got tangled up with Staal. This is a different situation.” #ALLCAPS
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) January 17, 2024
Ovechkin was on the ice prior to practice doing skills work and Carbery did not completely rule out the Capitals captain for Thursday’s game. But during Ovechkin’s absence, the Caps have relied on other players to step up. The biggest storyline being the makeshift top line of Max Pacioretty, Dylan Strome and T.J. Oshie.
While the trio did not get on the scoresheet against Anaheim, outside of Oshie extending his point streak to three games with an assist, they created numerous chances once again.
“It’s not beneficial to not have your captain and one of the greatest goal scorers of all time… I think it forces guys to have to, whether it’s leadership wise, or on the ice, push the envelope to be at their best. And you’ve sort of seen that whether it’s a product of guys feeling more responsible or putting a little bit more added pressure on themselves to deliver,” Carbery said. “[Pacioretty, Strome, Oshie] are three veterans playing together that have done a real good job and played at a high level.”
Scouting St. Louis
The Blues (21-19-2) have struggled this year and are sixth in the Pacific Division with 44 points. St. Louis is coming off a 4-2 loss against the Philadelphia Flyers, which also marked its second straight loss coming into the district.
St. Louis is another team that has struggled to score goals, chipping in at just 2.81 goals per game, which is the sixth-least in the NHL. The Blues’ power play is also at the bottom of the league, operating at 13.8%, which is 27th in the league.
Robert Thomas is having an outstanding year so far. He leads the team with 44 points (16 goals, 28 assists) in 42 games.
Player to Watch
Forward Jordan Kyrou has five points (three goals, two assists) in his last five games.
Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. at Capital One Arena. The game can be streamed on Monumental Sports Network.
By Jacob Cheris
