Nov. 18 vs. Columbus Blue Jackets at Capital One Arena
Time: 7:30 p.m.
TV: MNMT
Stream: MonSports.net/Stream
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Capitals Radio 24/7
Columbus Blue Jackets (4-9-4)
Washington Capitals (8-4-2)
For the second time in a span of three Saturday nights, the Columbus Blue Jackets are here in the District, supplying the opposition in the midst of a Capitals homestand. The Jackets make their second and final visit to D.C. this season, two weeks after Washington eked out a 2-1 win over them behind a 34-save performance from goaltender Charlie Lindgren.
Saturday’s game continues the Caps’ four-game homestand. Lindgren got them off on the good foot with a 3-0 shutout win over defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas on Tuesday in the homestand opener, stopping all 35 shots he faced to record his first shutout with Washington and the third of his NHL career.
Tuesday’s win over Vegas was Washington’s third straight, and the Caps have now forged a 7-1-1 record in their last nine games. During a wobbly 1-3-1 start to the season, the Capitals yielded the first two goals of each of those five games, and they didn’t own a scoreboard lead for a single second. In nine games since, the Caps have led for 254 minutes and 4 seconds, ranking eighth in the League in lead time over that span. After giving up the game’s first goal in eight of their first nine games this season, the Caps have now struck first in each of their last five contests.
“That’s made a huge difference, playing from in front,” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery. “I don’t know what the exact numbers are, but you can see why when teams play from a lead, their success rate – or the odds of them winning that game – are significantly higher.
“With us not being able to do that early in the year and chasing games, you see now with us in front, other teams having to try and catch up. And whether it’s forcing the issue or whether you’re really bearing down and grabbing your stick [tightly], just playing from in front puts you in a position of strength.”
Over the course of those last five games in which Washington has scored the game’s first goal in each contest, it only ever trailed in one of those five games, a 4-3 overtime loss to Florida on Nov. 8.
“Nowadays, I feel like so many people analyze so many different situations, and so many different stats and scenarios,” says Caps’ right wing Tom Wilson. “And I think it’s funny, because some of the best games we’ve played, we didn’t win. And then in games where we don’t play as well, we get a couple of wins.
“When you’re not at your best and you can find ways to win, that’s the sign of a really good team. When we were firing on all cylinders, we felt like we weren’t getting any bounces and we weren’t playing with a lead, so it can show you what getting the first goal can do. It’s a lot easier to play with a lead in this League than chasing the game. And I think in the last handful of games, maybe the analytics and some of that stuff isn’t as strong our way.”
“When you’re playing with a lead, you’re able to depend on your shot blocking and your defense to get the job done in those tight games. That’s why you’ve got to play the games and that’s why hockey is a great sport in retrospect; you have to go out there and you have to do the little things and get it done. It doesn’t matter what the analytics say; you just have to win games.”
That’s true for sure, but when you’re leading more, you can also expect to be defending more. For the most part, the Caps have defended well of late, even though they've been defending more than they'd like. They've also been without as many as three of their blueline regulars over the last several games, a situation that seems on the verge of improving. Washington can expect to gradually get some of its missing regulars back in the lineup as soon as Saturday night against Columbus.
Defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk left that Nov. 4 game against the Jackets early in the first period after suffering a lower body injury, and he has missed each of Washington’s last four games. van Riemsdyk should be good to go for Saturday's game. Winger Anthony Mantha suffered a scary upper body injury in the third period of the Caps’ Nov. 8 game with Florida, but he is ready to return after missing the last three contests. Blueliner Joel Edmundson is also getting closer to making his Caps debut; he's been sidelined for the better part of two months with a hand injury and could play as soon as Saturday.
Late Friday afternoon, the Caps returned defenseman Hardy Häman Aktell to AHL Hershey. Häman Aktell joined the Caps last month in Montreal, where he made his NHL debut against the Habs on Oct. 21. He skated in six games with the Caps over the last four weeks, picking up his first NHL point – an assist – on Oct. 29 against San Jose.
While Washington is seeking to add it its modest three-game winning streak – and five-game point streak (4-0-1) – Columbus will be seeking to shake off a seven-game winless streak. The Caps were able to get up for Tuesday’s game with the Cup champs, and they’ll need to guard against a letdown against a Jackets team that has played better than its 0-5-2 mark over the last seven games would indicate.
During the life of the Jackets’ winless run, three of their five regulation losses have been by a single goal. In each of the other two losses, Columbus yielded an empty-net goal late in the third period, showing that the Blue Jackets are not getting blown out. They've been competitive in virtually every game they've played.
Most recently, Columbus dropped a 3-2 decision to Arizona on Thursday night in Ohio’s capital city. The Coyotes broke a 1-1 deadlock a pair of third-period goals less than half a minute apart. The Jackets have held a lead at some point in each of their last six games; the last game in which they did not own a lead was their 2-1 loss to Washington here two weeks ago.
