Caps Play Sunday Morning Hockey in Chicago

Jan. 20 vs. Chicago Blackhawks at United Center
Time: 12:30 p.m.
TV:NBC
Radio:Capitals Radio 24/7, FAN 106.7
Washington Capitals 27-15-5
Chicago Blackhawks 16-24-9

In the midst of a stretch in which they are alternating one-game homestands with one-game road trips, the Caps are on the road for a Sunday morning tilt against the Blackhawks in Chicago. It's an early afternoon game back in the District, but in the Windy City it's a rare late morning contest.
It's also the third of what will be four one-game road trips in a span of less than two weeks. Sunday's begins a stretch of three games in four nights for the Caps, who have been scuffling since just before the flip of the calendar to 2019.
Beginning with a New Year's Eve loss to Nashville, the Caps are 3-5-2 in their last 10 games. They go into Chicago lugging a four-game losing streak (0-3-1), just the third time in the last five seasons that Washington has lost as many as four straight games. The Caps' current slide is their longest in nearly two years, since they endured a four-game skid (0-4-0) from March 6-12, 2017.
Washington's losing streak hit four on Friday night when it suffered a 2-0 whitewashing at the hands of Barry Trotz and his New York Islanders. The Isles victory was their 13th in their last 16 games, and it vaulted them past the Caps and into first place in the Metro Division standings. A mere two points separates the top four teams in the Metro; the Caps are a point out of first place and they're also a point out of fourth place in the division.

Of more immediate concern is Washington's sputtering offensive attack. The Caps have managed just one five-on-five goal in their last four games, and that tally came late in the third period of a 7-2 loss to the Predators in Nashville on Tuesday night.
"We're not feeling it right now," says Caps defenseman Matt Niskanen. "When we're playing our best offensively, we're skating, we play fast, we move the puck, we zip it around, we get lots of [scoring] chances, and we've got guys that can finish. But right now, it's not going well.
"We're not feeling it, so I think we need to simplify a little bit. We need a little more meat and potatoes around their net, and we need a better forecheck. Overall, we need a little bit more of a workmanlike attitude, because right now we're not feeling it."
Washington hit an extended rough patch last season right around this same time, early into the season's second half. The Caps put together a mediocre 10-10-4 mark over a 24-game span from Jan. 11 to March 8, and then they rallied to win 12 of their last 15 games of the regular season to go into the playoffs on a high note.
"I think teams are fighting for a playoff spot right now," says Caps winger Brett Connolly, "and as of late I think teams have just been a little bit hungrier than us in a lot of different areas. It's obviously frustrating, and it's hard, but we know we can do it. It's just a matter of getting the job done, working a little harder and working a little smarter. We've done it so many times before, it's just a matter of finding it and finding our game.
"Everybody can be way better, obviously. It's a collective group and it's a team game. For whatever reason right now, we're not making the plays. We're not breaking out, we're not really winning battles that we should be at this time of year. So it comes down to that, and everything else will take care of itself."

The Hawks are dragging a five-game losing streak (0-3-2) of their own into Sunday morning's game with the Capitals. Chicago has permitted at least three goals in eight straight games (1-4-3), and it has been outscored by an aggregate 34-26 in those games, as five of the losses have come by the margin of a single goal.
Chicago is dragging the rear of the Central Division for the second straight season in 2018-19, and it will miss the playoffs for a second straight season after nine straight postseason appearances, a run that included three Stanley Cup titles.
In November of this season, the Hawks fired coach Joel Quenneville, who had been behind the bench for each of those Stanley Cup championship seasons. Quenneville had been the Hawks' coach for just over a decade; he took over from Denis Savard just four games into the 2008-09 season and the Hawks were 6-6-3 before he was let go this season.
Chicago replaced Quenneville with 33-year-old Jeremy Colliton, who recently turned 34. Colliton was the head coach of Chicago's AHL Rockford affiliate before he was promoted to the Hawks bench, and the team is now 10-18-6 under his tutelage.
The Hawks faced the Caps in Washington on Thanksgiving Eve (Nov. 21), with Washington coming out on top by a 4-2 count. Corey Crawford was in goal for the Hawks that night, but the two-time Stanley Cup champ has since been sidelined by a concussion, the second straight season in which he has dealt with that injury.