Game Three of Homestand has Alex Ovechkin and the Caps Coming to Town

It is going to be another rocking Saturday night at Rogers Arena as the Vancouver Canucks (42-17-8) will host the Washington Capitals (31-25-9) on Hockey Night in Canada. 

This will be the one and only time that Canucks fans will be able to see Alex Ovechkin play at Rogers Arena this season. The 38-year-old has 18 goals this season, including 10 over his last 19 games.

Ovechkin’s chase for Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record is still on. Gretzky had 894 over his career and Ovechkin continues to close in – currently sitting at 840.

The Capitals are in the midst of a tight playoff race in the Eastern Conference. The New York Islanders currently hold onto the second wild card spot with 72 points while the Detroit Red Wings, Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins are all within five points of a playoff spot in the east. 

After a pair of ugly losses to open their Western Conference road trip, the Capitals played a strong game on Thursday night and picked up a 2-1 win over the Seattle Kraken. 

Charlie Lindgren was between the pipes for the Caps in their win on Thursday and he was excellent – stopping 23 of the 24 shots he faced. You would think that the Caps would ride with Lindgren once again on Saturday night, but Darcy Kuemper is still an option and the Caps have not announced a starter as of Friday afternoon.

The 30-year-old Lindgren has been strong over his last six starts. He has a 4-2-0 record with a .937% save percentage.

Another thing you might not know about Lindgren is that he catches with the right glove.

The Canucks and Caps met back in February and the Canucks were able to pick up an overtime win off the stick of J.T. Miller.

Quick Hits on the Competition:

• Dylan Strome leads the Caps in goals (22) and points (51) this season.
• Alex Ovechkin plays on a line with Connor McMichael and T.J. Oshie.
• It’s a big night for Oshie, as he will play his 1000th NHL game.
• John Carlson plays nearly half of the game. He is averaging 25:42 of ice time.
• Taking a lead into the third period is massive for the Caps. They are 11-0-1 when leading after 40 minutes on the road.
• First-period leads might be even more important, though. The Caps have not won a road game this season if they are trailing after 20 minutes (0-12-2).
• Tom Wilson (192) and Beck Malenstyn (184) are both in the top 20 on the NHL’s hits leaderboard.

Following a couple of hard days at practice, the Canucks are ready to get back on the ice in front of their fans for game three of their nine-game homestand.

The team is currently 10 points up on second place in the Pacific Division and three points up on the Colorado Avalanche for first in the Western Conference.

The team continues to play impressive hockey on home ice and has a 21-6-4 record at Rogers Arena this season. The team is 16-2-2 this year when they score first on home ice and 12-1-2 when they take a lead into the first intermission.

It is safe to say that having a good start is important on Saturday night. The Canucks have scored the first goal in 66% of their games this season.

J.T. Miller is up to 87 points on the season and scored his 33rd goal of the year on Thursday night against the Avalanche. Miller has averaged 19:36 this season, scored nine power play goals and added two shorthanded tucks. Miller has nine goals and 17 points over his last 11 games.

Keep an eye out for Brock Boeser to pop. He has been buzzing over his last five games – picking up 15 individual scoring chances. Boeser has been without a goal over his last five, but he is certainly getting opportunities.

The top pairing of Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek has been strong over their last five games – and if you don’t like fancy stats, skip to the end.

The Hughes-Hronek pairing has been on the ice for five goals scored and one goal against in the last five games. They are holding a 61.2% Corsi, a 66.3% control of the shot share, a 63.9% control of expected goals, and have been on the ice for 56 scoring chances for and 29 against (65.9 SCF%).

To simplify all those fancy stats, let’s just say they have been damn good.

Canucks’ Top Performers over Last Five:

Quinn Hughes: 1g-5a-6p
J.T. Miller: 3g-2a-5p
Nils Höglander: 2g-3a-5p
Conor Garland: 2g-2a-4p
Elias Pettersson: 2g-2a-4p

Saturday night’s game is available for your viewing pleasure on Hockey Night in Canada and is scheduled for a 7:00 pm PT start. If you are on the road or just want to give your ears a treat, you can listen to the radio broadcast with Brendan Batchelor on play-by-play with Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network.