The Washington Capitals will look to carry over the momentum from Wednesday’s 2-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings into the back-end of their back-to-back slate against the Anaheim Ducks. The Capitals snapped the Kings’ five game win streak on Thursday night in what was a very tight contest. Washington was outplayed for most of the game and was heavily outshot 39-15.
Here are the projected lines:
Alex Ovechkin – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Tom Wilson
Sonny Milano – Dylan Strome – Matthew Phillips
Anthony Mantha – Connor McMichael – Aliaksei Protas
Beck Malenstyn – Nic Dowd – Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Martin Fehervary – John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin – Nick Jensen
Joel Edmundson – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Darcy Kuemper
Charlie Lindgren
Scratched: Hendrix Lapierre, Lucas Johansen, Alex Alexeyev
RELATED: Takeaways From Capitals Impressive 2-1 Victory Over High-Flying Kings
The Caps had another one of those “gritty not pretty” wins over the Kings. It came down to the final seconds and the Capitals had to tighten up defensively once they took a 2-1 lead in the second period.
“It was a big win, certainly. To come into this building against one of the best teams in the league to perform the way that we did through the first two periods and then just to defend our butts off for that third period,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said postgame. “[Lindgren] bailed us out on a number of occasions. Hang on, fight through, another character win. We’ve had a few of those this year but this on the road against a team like that is a big win.”
Charlie Lindgren once again stole the game for the Caps with a 38 save performance, improving to 5-1-1 in the month of November. Meanwhile, Lindgren now leads the NHL with a .934 save percentage.
Charlie Lindgren stopped 38 of 39 shots to help the @Capitals improve to 7-3-1 in November. Only the Rangers (9-2-1) and Panthers (9-4-1) have more wins this month among Eastern Conference clubs.#NHLStats: https://t.co/gaN3xYgHFQ pic.twitter.com/KDlEAkznY8
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 30, 2023
“I felt like I saw a lot of pucks, which is what I need to do. Credit to the Kings over there. That could be the best team we’ve seen all year. They’re just four lines, six d-pairs, good goalie, it was a tough win,” Lindgren said after the game. “But for us to come in here in a tough building to get the two points was a big one.”
Washington’s newfound line of Anthony Mantha, Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas was another big story in Wednesday’s win. McMichael scored the game-winning goal for his fifth on the campaign and the trio combined for 10 scoring chances, six of which were from high-danger areas. McMichael moved back to center after playing left wing in San Jose.
He is fourth on the team with 10 points (five goals, five assists) through 19 games.
Protas continues to be an excellent playmaker. His two assists against the Kings put his season total up to seven, which is tied for second with Alex Ovechkin.
That line will look to continue their success for Thursday’s matchup.
“I think just playing with those two big bodies there. I notice we win a lot of puck battles and I think it showed on my goal there,” McMichael said. “We were all over them winning second chance pucks and using our big frames, myself included.”
Tom Wilson will be playing in his 700th NHL game against the Ducks. The 29-year-old has spent his entire career with the Capitals and signed a massive, seven-year extension over the summer. The right winger will be the fourth youngest player to reach the 700-game plateau.
Darcy Kuemper is slated to be in between the pipes for the Caps after Lindgren’s efforts last night. Kuemper had 21 saves in the 2-1 loss against the San Jose Sharks.
Scouting Anaheim
After having the worst record in the NHL last year, the Ducks have shown signs of improvement. Their young core is starting to come together and has shown flashes of its potential. However, Anaheim (9-13-0) has dropped its last seven games and is 2-8-1 in the last 10 games. The Ducks are coming off a 3-1 loss against the Vancouver Canucks.
Anaheim has been battling some key injuries, most notably forward Trevor Zegras and defenseman Jamie Drysdale. Zegras has been out since Nov. 7 and has only played in 12 games this year. Drysdale on the other hand has only played in two contests but has racked up two assists. Both injuries are lower-body, and both are on injured reserve. However, they were in full gear on Wednesday prior to the Ducks’ practice doing some light skill work.
Jamie Drysdale and Trevor Zegras were both skating in full gear this morning with Ducks skills coach Larry Barron, going through a set of position-specific drills. Very light work, but a good sign of their progress.
— Félix Sicard (@Felix_Sicard) November 30, 2023
Meanwhile, former Capitals blueliner Radko Gudas is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury he sustained on Wednesday against the Canucks.
Forward Mason McTavish is having a breakout year for the Ducks. He is tied for the team lead with 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) and has five points (three goals, two assists) in his last five games.
The Ducks have struggled to put the puck in the net, like the Capitals. They are 28th in the NHL with 2.68 goals per game.
Player To Watch
Rookie forward Leo Carlsson is having a solid first campaign. He recently scored his first NHL hat trick and has six goals, which is tied for second overall among rookies. The No. 2 overall selection has nine points (six goals, three assists) in 14 games.
Puck drop is slated for 10 p.m. EST at Honda Center. The game can be streamed on Monumental Sports Network.
By Jacob Cheris