Capitals Daily Report: Prep for Round 2 of the Capital Cities Battle

Posted on January 7, 2017 by Jon Sorensen
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Photo: Washington Capitals

The Capitals are in Ottawa to begin a two-game Canadian road trip Saturday night against the Senators. The Capitals will be looking to notch their 5th straight victory in the capital city. The Caps next head to Montreal to face the Candiens on Monday night. Puck drop for tonight’s game is 7:00 PM. 

With their 5-0 streak-busting victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, the Caps have now won 4 in a row. In addition, the Capitals offense seems to be awakening, scoring 19 goals in the last four games. The only team to hold the Caps under 5 goals were the Senators on  New Years Day.

MORNING SKATE:
The Capitals held morning skate at 11:30 at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa. Practice lines for this morning were the same as the lines for the Columbus game:

Braden Holtby will get the start tonight against the Senators. Philipp Grubauer was on the ice for morning skate. Grubauer traveled to Ottawa later than the team yesterday because of illness. Barry Trotz stated after practice that a couple of the players are battling a bug, but wouldn’t specify who. Liam O’Brien, called up from Hershey on Friday, looks to be the healthy scratch tonight, as expected. Taylor Chorney is expected to be the other healthy scratch. The complete game preview can be read here.

MILESTONE WATCH:

  • Alex Ovechkin is 4 points from 1,000;
  • Nicklas Backstrom is 1 assist from 500; He will be the 1st player in franchise history and 06 draft class, 2nd fastest Swede (Forsberg), 3rd fastest among active players (Crosby & Jagr) to reach that milestone.
  • Barry Trotz is 3 wins from passing Pat Quinn for 7th (684).
  • With Thursday’s shutout, Braden Holtby now has 27 for his career. He is eight behind Olaf Kolzig’s for the Capitals record of 35.

SHAVINGS:

  • Braden Holtby stopped all 29 shots he faced on Thursday against Columbus to earn his 27th career shutout and fourth of the season.
  • The Capitals have won four straight games and have posted an 11-2-2 record in their last 15 games (12/5-1/5).
  • Washington has won four straight games against Ottawa and has earned a point in seven consecutive games against the Senators (6-0-1).
  • The latest edition of Caps Red Line:

 

DAILY LINKS:
Caps Take to the Road in Ottawa (Mike Vogel)
Game Notes at Ottawa, 1/7/17 (Capitals PR)
Capitals Coach Barry Trotz encouraging Evgeny Kuznetsov to shoot more (WaPo)

INTERVIEWS:
Braden Holtby

Barry Trotz

Matt Niskanen

 

By Jon Sorensen

SCENES FROM OTTAWA

About Jon Sorensen

Jon has been a Caps fan since day one, attending his first game at the Capital Centre in 1974. His interest in the Caps has grown over the decades and included time as a season ticket holder. He has been a journalist covering the team for 10+ years, primarily focusing on analysis, analytics and prospect development.
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