Alex Ovechkin will face star rookie Connor McDavid tonight when the Capitals play their third game in four nights at Rexall Place, in Edmonton. Ovechkin has scored a goal in every game he has played, while McDavid has six points in his first seven games of the season.

Series Preview:
The Caps and Oilers will meet just twice this season, with this being the Capitals’ last game played at Rexall Place as the Oilers will be moving to a new facility next year. The next game will be at the Verizon Center next month

Game Notes
Former Capital Matt Hendricks will not be playing tonight as he was placed on injured reserve

Philipp Grubauer will get his first start of the season tonight

Jason Chimera grew up in Edmonton, and played the first four seasons of his career in Edmonton.

Friday marks the first of two meetings between the teams this season (Nov. 23 at WSH) and concludes the first of 13 sets of back-to-back games for the Capitals this season.

Sizing Up the Opponent
The Oilers will be playing five former first-round picks when McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall, Nail Yakupov, and Jordan Eberle hit the ice tonight. The Oilers are 3-4-0 on the season and have a solid group of forwards and defenseman. In the midst of a rebuild, the Oilers are a team that currently has no captain, just four alternates.

Wave to the Good Guys
The Caps are hoping to finish their first road trip on a high note, as they have won 2 of 2 games thus far. The Capitals will wrap up their west coast swing before a mini-vacation.  The Capitals will next face the Pittsburgh Penguins, Wednesday night at Verizon Center.

Alex Ovechkin has scored in every game he has played this season, while Nicklas Backstrom has five points in two games since returning from offseason hip surgery.

Standings Update
The Capitals are second in the Metropolitan Division, trailing the New York Rangers by just one point. They are fourth overall in the NHL, trailing the Montreal Canadiens by four points, and are third overall in the Eastern Conference.  The Oilers are currently fifth in the Pacific Division, tenth in the Western Conference, and 21st in the league.

Network Information
Tonight, CSN-DC, Capitals Radio Network 106.7 FM, 10:00 PM

Projected Lineups
Washington Capitals
Forwards:
Alex Ovechkin- E. Kuznetsov- TJ Oshie
M. Johansson- N. Backstrom- J. Williams
Jason Chimera- Jay Beagle- Tom Wilson
B. Laich- C. Stephenson- A. Burakovsky

Defense:
Brooks Orpik- John Carlson
Karl Alzner- Matt Niskanen
Dmitry Orlov- Nate Schmidt

Goalies:
Philipp Grubauer
Braden Holtby

Edmonton Oilers
Forwards:
Taylor Hall- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins- Rob Klinkhammer
Benoit Pouliot- Connor McDavid- Nail Yakupov
Lauri Korpikoski- Anton Lander- Teddy Purcell
Luke Gazdic- Mark Letestu- Anton Slepyshev

Defense:
Oscar Klefbom- Justin Schultz
Andrej Sekera- Mark Fayne
Andrew Ference- Eric Gryba

Goalies:
Anders Nilsson
Cam Talbot

Player Spotlight
Nicklas Backstrom– since returning from offseason hip surgery, Backstrom has scored five points (three goals, two assists) in his first two games.

Connor McDavid– the first-overall pick of this year’s draft, McDavid has six points (four goals, two assists) in his first seven games. The Capitals will need to keep an eye on the 18-year old tonight.

By Michael Fleetwood