Caps Battle Pens on Sunday
Caps carry three-game winning streak into first meeting of season with Pittsburgh
The Caps stop home to do some laundry, change clothes and take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday night at Capital One Arena. The contest is the only home game in a stretch of six of seven on the road, and the only stand-alone game during that seven-game span. The six road games are all part of back-to-back sets.
Sunday's game is the third in four nights for the Caps, who return home from a triumphant two game journey to Detroit and Columbus where they swept a set of back-to-backs, winning 2-0 behind Zach Fucale's 21-save shutout in his NHL debut on Thursday, and 4-3 in Ohio on Friday on the strength of Conor Sheary's goal with 82 seconds left in regulation.
Caps captain Alex Ovechkin supplied his team's first goal in Friday's game, passing Brett Hull to move into sole possession of fourth place on the NHL's all-time goals ledger. With a dozen goals in 14 games this season, Ovechkin is off to a terrific start to the season at age 36. His 24 points ranks third in the NHL heading into Saturday's slate of NHL activity, and his plus-12 is tied for second in the circuit, trailing only teammate Nick Jensen (plus-15).
Ovechkin has scored 58 goals in his last 82 regular season games, stretching back to early January of 2020. Washington has amassed 48 goals in its 14 games this season, and Ovechkin has accounted for a quarter of them himself, and he has had a hand in the manufacturing of half of them. He and linemates Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson have combined to score 42 percent of the Capitals' goals this season.
Ovechkin's line started the scoring in each game on the just completed journey, but the Caps also got some critical secondary scoring from Sheary, Lars Eller and Garnet Hathaway on the trip. Eller and Hathaway both scored their first goals of the season on the trip, and Hathaway had the third two-goal game of his career on Friday in Columbus.
"Obviously Hath had a big night and it's overdue; he's been playing great," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "Oftentimes, there's a perception just to look and see how many goals they have. And he is so valuable to the team with what he does and his presence, and it's nice to see a guy like that get rewarded.
"Conor Sheary brings it every night. And Lars getting a goal and getting on the board, and Shears winning the game [Friday]. Those are the guys that do a lot of heavy lifting on our team, and it's nice to see them contribute, too."
Sheary's goal was his second of the season and his first at 5-on-5. He is the seventh different player to net a game-winning goal for the Caps this season, only Dmitry Orlov (two) has more than one.
"It's important to get secondary scoring in all of these games, but especially now when we're so injured up front," says Sheary. "Ovi's going to score, Kuzy's going to score and that top line is playing really well for us. And if we can get the bottom nine going and keep scoring these big goals, I think we can roll together some wins here."
For Washington, being able to bring home four points from a set of back-to-back games on the road with four regular forwards missing from its lineup is an important early season accomplishment.
"It's big," says rookie winger Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, whose three-game NHL career coincides with Washington's three-game winning streak. "I feel like we have a lot of young guys who haven't played in the NHL until now, and we're still winning. It shows that the organization is doing something right."
Washington's two-game trip to the Midwest marked its first set of back-to-backs this season, and the Pens are doing the same this weekend, facing the NHL's two "nation's capital" teams. Pittsburgh dropped a 6-3 decision to the Senators in Ottawa on Saturday and will finish its first set of back-to-backs on Sunday with the first of four meetings against the Caps this season.
Saturday night's loss to the Sens marked the first road game in which the Pens did not collect a point this season, but they haven't won on the road since taking down the Lightning 6-2 in their season opener in Tampa on Oct. 12. Pittsburgh had a seven-game homestand earlier in the season and has played only four road games (1-1-2).
The Penguins have been plagued by a series of COVID-19 protocol absences of late, with handful of players as well as coach Mike Sullivan missing games as a result. Former Caps bench boss Todd Reirden has been piloting the Pens in Sullivan's absence, but Sullivan is expected to return to his post on Sunday in Washington.
Pens captain Sidney Crosby missed the last five games because of COVID-19 protocol, and he has suited up for just one of Pittsburgh's 13 games this season, but may return to the lineup on Sunday.
