Photo: @Capitals
The Capitals headed to Columbus, Ohio on Monday and on Tuesday morning held a morning skate at Nationwide Arena to prepare for a big two-game stretch against the Columbus Blue Jackets that begins Tuesday night at 7 p.m. While these teams won’t play on two consecutive nights it’s still a very important home-and-home, back-to-back stretch for the Capitals as they look to remain in the driver’s seat in a tight Metropolitan Division.
THE MORNING LINES
Forwards
Ovechkin-Backstrom-Wilson
Vrana-Kuznetsov-Oshie
Connolly-Eller-Burakovsky
Stephenson-Beagle-DSP
Defense
Djoos-Carlson
Orlov-Niskanen
Orpik-Bowey
Scratches: Taylor Chorney and Alex Chiasson
Starting goalie: Braden Holtby
NEWS
For the first time since their Jan. 19 loss to the Canadiens, Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom were paired on a line together. Once again, the duo was on the first line with Tom Wilson. Ovechkin and Backstrom shared the same line for a stretch of 25 games. Ovechkin has scored 15 of his league-leading 32 goals during that stretch while Backstrom has assisted on 16 of his 28 in that stretch.
Andre Burakovsky was back on the third line with Lars Eller and Brett Connolly. That line was a place where Burakovsky excelled at last season before his thumb injury that February. Last season, the Connolly-Eller-Burakovsky line combined for 22 goals and 17 assists during an 18-game stretch from January to February. Burakovsky chipped in seven goals and eight assists during that run. After Burakovsky ended his nine-game goalless drought with a tally last Wednesday in a win over the Flyers, Burakovsky hopes to rekindle the chemistry he had just one short year ago with Eller and Connolly.
“They’ve played together, they’ve had success. I’m just moving pieces around a little bit right now which is a good thing with our group. I’ve done it all year for different stretches and I think the way we are constructed tonight gives us our best chance to win,” said Capitals head coach Barry Trotz.
One thing that was strange from the morning skate was the scratch’s skate at the end. While Vrana was initially taking line rushes on the second line with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Oshie, Vrana was additionally taking the scratch’s skate. Does this mean he will be out tonight? We’ll have to wait and see.
This could be a false alarm. These were the lines during skate, but Vrana then did extra work. So now it’s all confusing. https://t.co/w7oVFe55MO
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) February 6, 2018
CAPS RED LINE
The @Capitals are on the road in the first of a home-and-home vs. the Blue Jackets tonight, so @CourtneyNBCS decided to borrow the locker room for #CapsJackets #CapsRedLine!
Puck drops at 7:00 pm on @NBCSWashington for a Metro Division battle. #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/tNwxTFMrDj
— MonumentalSportsNet (@MonSportsNet) February 6, 2018
CAPS TODAY
CAPS TODAY; Evgeny Kuznetsov is currently on a four-game assist streak, tied for longest assist streak for the Capitals this season. He and the Caps face the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight at Nationwide Arena. https://t.co/BKZ9VlGDKs pic.twitter.com/xxcOG4QsoH
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) February 6, 2018
GAME NOTES
GAME NOTES: The Capitals will face the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena tomorrow night for the second game between the teams this season. https://t.co/8UGXdHRzMo pic.twitter.com/Geks5b2BIv
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) February 5, 2018
SHAVINGS
- Nicklas Backstrom is one goal shy of 200 career goals.
- Jay Beagle is one goal shy of 50 career goals.
- Washington holds a 10-5-0-2 record all-time at Nationwide Arena and a 20-7-1-4 record all-time against Columbus.
- Evgeny Kuznetsov has five assists in his last four games and is on a four-game assist streak, which is tied with Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson for the longest assist streak this season (Backstrom has two four-game assist streaks)
- Christian Djoos has recorded an assist in three-straight games, and his nine assists rank seventh among rookie defensemen this season.
- Additionally, Djoos’ 12 points (3 goals, 9 assists) are tied with Madison Bowey for sixth-most among rookie defensemen.
- The Capitals have earned a point in 10 of their last 11 games against the Blue Jackets (8-1-2) and in 19 of their last 23 games against Columbus (15-4-4).
- Nicklas Backstrom has 22 points (6 goals, 16 assists) in 26 career games against Columbus while Alex Ovechkin has 15 goals in 27 career games.
CAPITALS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Capitals waiting for the zamboni to clear the ice here so they can start their morning skate at Nationwide Arena. pic.twitter.com/A3B5cXlHQv
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) February 6, 2018
INTERVIEWS
Braden Holtby and Evgeny Kuznetsov
Braden Holtby and Evgeny Kuznetsov talk from Columbus about turning the ship around after two losses in a row. #ALLCAPS #CapsJackets pic.twitter.com/owWxYM9dK3
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 6, 2018
Barry Trotz
#Caps head coach Barry Trotz talks to the media as Washington plays the first game of a home-and-home set against the Columbus Blue Jackets. #CapsJackets #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/SwieVEj63x
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 6, 2018
Rinkside Update: Madison Bowey
Rinkside Update | #Caps defenseman @m_bows4 catches up with @VogsCaps to talk about his rookie season, the push for the playoffs and why he wears 22. #CapsJackets #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/gT3OBTIbFP
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 6, 2018
By Michael Marzzacco
Follow @marswaggo
