Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images

The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets open their season series in the North on Sunday night and will close it 12 nights later. Washington swept the regular-season set vs. Winnipeg last season, including a 5-2 win north of the border on December 17, 2021, and is 15-3-2 in their past 20 against them dating back to March 2013. Action from Canadian Life Centre can be seen on NBC Sports Washington in-market or ESPN+ out-of-market starting at 7 PM ET.

SCHEDULE

Washington: head back on the road for two straight games after coming home for one game, a 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken on Friday, following a season-long six-game road trip

Winnipeg: open three-game homestand; continue stretch where they play seven of nine at home; return from two-game Central Division road trip sweep, including a 3-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday

RECORDS

Washington: 13-12-4/.517 points percentage – sixth in Metropolitan Division, tied for 10th in Eastern Conference in points but rank 11th in points percentage; 5-8-3 on road, 24th in NHL

Winnipeg: 18-7-1/.712 points percentage – first in Central Division and second in Western Conference (first in points percentage); 10-3-0 at home, fifth

HOW EACH TEAM IS DOING

Washington: have won three straight games and are 6-2-1 in their last nine since dropping nine of their previous 11 (2-6-3)

Winnipeg: four straight wins, 16-4-1 since October 23 (third-best record)

TEAM LEADERS

Washington

• LW Alex Ovechkin (16 goals, 29 points)
• C Evgeny Kuznetsov (18 assists)
• D John Carlson (23:34 TOI/game)

Notes: Ovechkin, 37, has eight goals and seven multi-point games in his last 11 (13 points) after a two-point outing in Washington’s 4-1 win over Seattle; Kuznetsov, 30, has five assists over a four-game assist streak; Carlson, 32, has three goals and six points in his last seven; C Dylan Strome has a goal and four points over his last four; LW Anthony Mantha has a goal, three points in his last two

Winnipeg

• C Mark Schiefele (15 goals)
• D Josh Morrissey (25 assists, 30 points, 23:13 TOI/game)

Notes: Morrissey, 27, has five assists over a four-game assist streak and has yet to go consecutive games without a point this season; Schiefele, 29, has five goals and nine points over his last seven, including three goals and five points over his last four; C Pierre-Luc Dubois has 13 goals and 28 points in 26 games this season, including two three-point performances in his last three; LW Kyle Connor has three goals and seven points over a four-game point-streak and 28 points (17 assists) overall; RW Blake Wheeler has 10 assists and 15 points over his last 10; C Cole Perfetti has six assists and nine points over his last eight, including goals in back-to-back outings; C Adam Lowry has five assists and eight points over his last eight

KEY TEAM STATS

Goals-per-game:                  WSH – 2.83 (27th)        WPG – 3.35 (11th)

Goals-against per game:    WSH – 2.93 (11th)         WPG – 2.46 (4th)

Power Play:                           WSH – 21.4% (21st)      WPG – 23.5% (T-14th)

Penalty Kill:                          WSH – 80.7% (9th)      WPG – 84.5% (3rd)

Shots-per-game:                  WSH – 30.7 (T-19th)    WPG – 30.7 (T-19th)

Shots-against per game:    WSH – 30.7 (10th)        WPG – 31.4 (T-14th)

Faceoff-winning %:             WSH – 48.6% (22nd)   WPG – 47.5% (T-25th)

5v5 Corsi-for %:                   WSH – 50.36% (15th)  WPG – 49.54% (19th)

5v5 x Goals-For %:              WSH – 50.18% (18th)  WPG – 48.96% (22nd)

5v5 SCF %:                            WSH – 51.12% (16th)   WPG – 52.56% (8th)

5v5 Shooting %:                   WSH – 7.17% (27th)     WPG – 8.51% (16th)

5v5 Save %:                           WSH – .922 (10th)       WPG – .9365 (3rd)

5v5 PDO:                               WSH – .994 (20th)      WPG – 1.022 (3rd)

EXPECTED STARTING GOALTENDERS

Washington: Charlie Lindgren, 28 — 5-3-2, .907 save percentage, 2.87 goals-against average in 11 games this season; first career start vs. Winnipeg

Winnipeg: Connor Hellebuyck, 29 — 14-5-1 (second in NHL in wins), .932 save percentage (tied for third), 2.24 goals-against average (third), three shutouts (tied for league-lead with Villie Husso of Detroit Red Wings) in 20 games; 4-3-2, .929 save percentage, 2.19 goals-against average, shutout in nine career games vs. Washington

INJURIES/ILLNESSES

Washington

• G Darcy Kuemper (lower-body, will miss fourth straight game, out day-to-day)
• D Martin Fehervary (lower-body, fourth, day-to-day)
• RW Connor Brown (ACL, 26th, indefinite)
• D Dmitry Orlov (lower-body, 17th, day-to-day)
• LW Carl Hagelin (hip, 30th, indefinite)
• RW Tom Wilson (ACL, 30th, indefinite)
• C Nicklas Backstrom (hip, 30th, indefinite)
• LW Beck Malenstyn (finger, 19th, week-to-week)
• D Alexander Alexeyev (upper-body, first, status TBD)

Winnipeg

• C Mason Appleton (upper body, 13th, indefinite)
• RW Nikolaj Ehlers (sports hernia, 24th, indefinite)
• C Saku Maenalanen (upper-body, second, day-to-day)
• D Logan Stanley (lower-body, first, status TBD)

PROJECTED LINEUPS

Washington

Ovechkin — Strome — Conor Sheary
Sonny Milano — Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie
Marcus Johansson — Lars Eller — Mantha
Aliaksei Protas — Nic Dowd — Garnet Hathaway

Erik Gustafsson — Carlson
Trevor Van Riemsdyk — Nick Jensen
Lucas Johansen — Matt Irwin

Lindgren
Hunter Shepard

Scratched: LW Joe Snively, RW Nicolas Aube-Kubel, D Dylan McIlrath

** expect Washington to call up at least one defenseman before puck drop if Alexeyev is unavailable

Winnipeg

Perfetti — Schiefele — Wheeler
Connor — Dubois — Michael Eyssimont
Jansen Harkins — Lowry — Sam Gagner
Axel Jonsson-Fjallby — David Gustafsson — Morgan Barron

Morrissey — Dylan DeMelo
Brenden Dillon — Neal Pionk
Nate Schmidt — Kyle Capobianco

Hellebuyck
David Rittich

Scratched: D Dylan Samberg

Game Notes

By Harrison Brown