After a day off on Sunday, the Capitals held a morning skate Monday morning ahead of their matchup with the Stars. The Capitals look to defeat Dallas at Verizon Center for the first time since 2006. Puck drop is at 7:30 on CSN.
MORNING SKATE
Coming off an overtime win over the Flyers, there were no line changes in the Capitals practice lines. Everything was status quo.
Rinse repeat for #Caps lineup ahead of tonight’s game vs #Stars:
8-19-77; 90-92-14
10-20-13; 26-83-43
27-74
9-2
44-22— Ben Raby (@BenRaby31) March 6, 2017
Braden Holtby was in the starter’s net in practice, and thus he will get the start tonight in goal. Holtby has beaten 29 other teams in his career, but not the Stars (0-3-0). The Capitals also haven’t beaten the Stars on home ice since November, 2006, back when the Caps’ jerseys were black instead of red. The Capitals got their first win in Dallas since Oct. 2008 back in January.
Nate Schmidt, Taylor Chorney, and Paul Carey took the scratches’ skate. Trotz mentioned after practice that Andre Burakovsky, who hurt his hand last month, will probably head with the team out west so he can practice and participate in morning skates.
Burakovsky (hand) will “probably” head out west so he can practice and take morning skates, Trotz said.
— Tarik El-Bashir (@TarikCSN) March 6, 2017
Trotz added that Burakovsky (broken hand and on long-term injured reserve) would naturally start with non-contact work.
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) March 6, 2017
SCENES FROM KETTLER
Morning skate @NoVa_Caps pic.twitter.com/HTHnZCIBXQ
— Michael Marzzacco (@Marswaggo) March 6, 2017
Taylor Chorney @NoVa_Caps pic.twitter.com/Ho3yY584Eh
— Michael Marzzacco (@Marswaggo) March 6, 2017
#WeAreEverywhere @NoVa_Caps pic.twitter.com/kyiXUHPOh7
— Michael Marzzacco (@Marswaggo) March 6, 2017
GAME CHIPS
- Tonight marks the second and final meeting between the Capitals and the Stars this season.
- The Capitals beat the Stars in January in Dallas for the first time since 2008.
- Tonight the Capitals look to get their first win against the Stars on home ice since 2006.
- Check out our game preview by clicking here.
SHAVINGS
- Braden Holtby leads the NHL in goals-against average (1.89) and shutouts (8) this season.
- Holtby is tied for first in wins with 34 and tied for second in save percentage (.931)
- The Capitals defeated the Flyers 2-1 in overtime. The win extended their franchise-record home winning streak to 15 games and their franchise-record home point streak to 17 games.
- The Capitals have scored 22 power-play goals in their last 25 games, posting 32.4% power-play percentage during that stretch.
- Daniel Winnik will play in his 700th NHL game tonight. Today is also his 32nd birthday.
- Nicklas Backstrom’s game-winning goal on Saturday night marked the second consecutive season and fourth time in his career he has scored 20 goals in a season.
- The Capitals lead the NHL in goals against (130), goals against per game (2.03) and five-on-five goals against (81) this season.
- Washington is 30-2-2 this season in games when they have one day of rest.
DAILY LINKS
Caps Fan from Japan Attends Practice
Game Notes vs. Dallas, 3/6/17 (Capitals PR)
Barry Trotz Pregame (Monumental Network)
Caps Seeing Stars on Monday (Mike Vogel)
Braden Holtby Can Check Another Item Off His To-Do List Tonight Against the Dallas Stars (Tarik El-Bashir/CSN)
INTERVIEWS
Rinkside Update: Jay Beagle
Rinkside Update by @AccessibleMeds | Jay Beagle talks about his shutdown role against the league’s top forwards pic.twitter.com/9V9vWNWITp
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 6, 2017
Justin Williams
Caps Forward @justinwilliams on the upcoming western road trip. pic.twitter.com/jhwWg2CWt9
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 6, 2017
CAPITALS IN THE COMMUNITY
READ: @MSEFndn, #Caps Raise $147,000 for @teams4taps Through 2016-17 #CourageCaps Campaign Presented by @telosnews: https://t.co/slaqqIiU2T pic.twitter.com/2JZqbUVW0k
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) March 6, 2017
MSE Foundation Military Night Jersey Auction Raises More Than $56,000 For Charity. Read more: https://t.co/NrJzXbYqQL pic.twitter.com/q2xu2nZu7M
— MSE Foundation (@MSEFndn) March 6, 2017
By Michael Marzzacco
Follow @marswaggo