News and Notes from Thursday’s Capitals Morning Skate in Minnesota: Jay Beagle Update and the Dads Are Here

Posted on February 15, 2018 by
DWFwg3mWsAAyvS4.jpg-large
Photo: @Capitals

Coming off a tough overtime loss to the Jets on Tuesday night, the Washington Capitals took the ice on Thursday morning at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota for a morning skate prior to their game against the Wild. Thursday’s game marks the second of their four-game road trip and their first game this season with their fathers and mentors in the house. Puck drop is at 8 p.m eastern. 

JAY BEAGLE UPDATE
Late in the third period of Tuesday’s game in Winnipeg, Jay Beagle got slashed in ribs by Dustin Byfuglien. Beagle came to the bench in pain. Here’s a look at the play:

On Thursday morning, Beagle was on the ice for the morning skate and was at his usual spot on the fourth line. He will most likely play tonight.

THE MORNING LINES

Forwards
Ovechkin-Backstrom-Wilson
Vrana-Kuznetsov-Oshie
Burakovsky-Eller-Connolly
Stephenson-Beagle-Smith-Pelly
Defense
Djoos-Carlson
Orlov-Niskanen
Orpik-Chorney
Starter’s net: Philipp Grubauer

Scratches: Alex Chiasson (F) and Madison Bowey (D).

NEWS
Before the Capitals took the ice for their morning skate, Alex Ovechkin and Bruce Boudreau caught up during the Wild’s morning skate.

With the Capitals dads and mentors on the trip, Trotz hopes to play every guy in these next two games which explains why Madison Bowey will sit tonight to allow Taylor Chorney to play. Although Philipp Gruabuer’s dad didn’t make the trip, Trotz will go with him in goal tonight. Grubauer carries a 4-7-3 record with a 2.69 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. This game will mark his first ever career start against the Wild.

GAME NOTES

CAPS TODAY

FATHER’S TRIP
The Capitals will be hosting the player’s dads and mentors for their road games in Minnesota and Chicago. Since 2008, the Capitals are 12-5-0 all-time in the fathers and mentors trips.

SHAVINGS

  • Washington holds a 12-8-0-1 record all-time vs. the Wild.
  • In his last eight games, Evgeny Kuznetsov has led the Capitals with 11 points (2 goals, 9 assists) and is riding a team-high eight game point and assist streak.
  • Kuznetsov’s 39 assists lead the team this season and ranked 13th in the NHL through games played Feb. 13.
  • On Feb. 13 against Winnipeg, Nicklas Backstrom scored the Capitals opening goal with 23 seconds remaining in the first period. That marked the third time in his last four games that Backstrom scored a goal in the final minute of a period (game-tying goal with 17 seconds remaining vs. Det on Feb. 11 and the game-winning goal with 43 seconds left at CBJ on Feb. 6).
  • Alex Ovechkin recorded an assist Tuesday night against the Jets marking his 61st point (33 goals, 28 assists). He is eight points shy of his 2016-17 total (69 points, 33 goals, 36 assists).
  • Washington has won six consecutive games against Minnesota.
  • Ovechkin has recorded 21 points (14 goals, 7 assists) in 13 career games against Minnesota. He has also earned a point in 11 consecutive games against the Wild (14 goals, 6 assists) and in 12 of his 13 career games against Minnesota.
  • Ovechkin’s 1.07 goals per game against the Wild is his highest goals per game average against any individual franchise, and he has two hat tricks in his last five games against the Wild.

CAPITALS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

By Michael Marzzacco

This entry was posted in Daily Report, Morning Skate, News, Washington Capitals and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to News and Notes from Thursday’s Capitals Morning Skate in Minnesota: Jay Beagle Update and the Dads Are Here

  1. Pingback: News and Notes from Friday’s Capitals Practice in Chicago: Father/Son Bonding Continues | NoVa Caps

  2. Joanne Johnson says:
    February 19, 2018 at 11:00 am

    Where can we purchase playoff tickets?

    Reply

Leave a Reply