Caps' Road Swing Continues in Chicago

December 15 vs. Chicago Blackhawks at United Center
Time:8:00 p.m.
TV:NBCSW
Radio:Capitals Radio 24/7, 106.7 FAN
Washington Capitals (17-5-6)
Chicago Blackhawks (10-15-2)

Washington continues a three-game road swing on Wednesday night when it faces the Blackhawks in Chicago. The game marks the Caps' first visit to the Windy City in more than two years - since a 5-3 victory there on Oct. 20, 2019 - and is the second game between the two teams this month. On Dec. 2 in the District, the Hawks won a 4-3 shootout decision over the Capitals.
This past Saturday night in Buffalo, the Caps started the aforementioned three-game road swing and a stretch in which they'll play five of six games on the road ahead of the NHL's annual holiday break from Dec. 24-26. The Caps engineered a third-period comeback to claim a 3-2 shootout victory over the Sabres on Saturday, then they returned home for a day off on Sunday and practice days on Monday and Tuesday.
For the last month-plus, the Caps have been plagued by a spate of injuries and illnesses that have resulted in the absence of a handful of key players from their lineup on a nightly basis. When the Caps defeated the Sabres on Saturday, they did so with six regular players missing from their lineup, the most players they've had missing for any one game this season.
Monday and Tuesday's practices show a Caps team that appears to be on the mend, and there is hope that the number of missing players might dwindle for Wednesday's game against the Blackhawks.
Center Nicklas Backstrom has yet to play this season while rehabbing a hip injury. Backstrom, who turned 34 late last month, has been skating with his teammates for more than a week now - when they've been able to practice - and seems to be drawing close to a return, perhaps as soon as Wednesday in Chicago.

"I'm feeling good right now," said Backstrom after Monday's practice. "And as you all know, we haven't been having a lot of practice either. So it was nice to get a practice in and actually take some line rushes, too. But I'm feeling better, progressing and we'll see where we're at. Another practice [Tuesday] and we'll go from there."
Whenever Backstrom does return, he'll be playing NHL hockey for the first time since May, and he'll be doing so without the benefit of any sort of training camp and preseason games that have preceded each of his 14 previous seasons in the League.
In addition to Backstrom, both Nic Dowd and Trevor van Riemsdyk were also full participants in practice on Monday and Tuesday. Dowd was placed into Covid-19 protocol on Dec. 3 and van Riemsdyk had the same experience a day later, and Garnet Hathaway became the third Capital in the protocol on Dec. 6.
After Tuesday's practice, Dowd reflected on his experience with the virus and being in the protocol.
"We were fortunate.," says the Caps center. "Obviously I had the vaccine, and we were fortunate that I was the only one in my family that tested positive. And it wasn't too bad for me; probably a really bad head cold, I would describe it as. Something that I probably - in a regular world - would have been playing through without thinking about it."
For Dowd, the worst part of the ordeal was probably a fourth separate absence from the lineup this season, following a pair of different lower body ailments that caused him to miss a total of eight games earlier in the campaign. He and linemates Hathaway and Carl Hagelin were just hitting their collective stride when Dowd and - soon after - Hathaway went into protocol.
"That was tough," admits Dowd. "Obviously, I had the lower body [injury], and so I was out for about 10 days, and then I came back and played like three or four games. And then I had another lower body [injury], came back and played like three or four games. And at that point, I think we played five games together finally - Hath, I and Hags - and got back to playing our best hockey I thought all year.
"So to have that happen when it did - especially after the Chicago game, which I thought was one of our best games of the season - was really frustrating. And then obviously to see the same thing happen to Hath was tough as well."

Dowd was able to skate over the weekend when his teammates were in Buffalo and enjoying an off day, but he and van Riemsdyk should be good to go on Wednesday in Chicago.
"I skated Saturday and Sunday and I felt pretty bad - not from a lung or COVID standpoint, just from like a 10-day [respite]," says Dowd. "In my opinion, you take three days off from skating and you basically feel like you took 10 days off. I've been really lucky, I'm going to skate four or five times before I have to play."
While Dowd and van Riemsdyk will likely play against Chicago, they will both return to D.C. after the game. Neither player will be permitted to cross the Canadian border for Friday's game with the Jets, because of their recent bouts with COVID-19. More roster machinations will be necessary for Washington after Wednesday's game with the Hawks.
Right wing Tom Wilson has not skated since leaving a Dec. 10 game against the Penguins with an upper body injury, but he did travel with the team on this trip, an indication that he may be able to play before the Caps return home to host the Kings on Sunday.
Chicago got off to a rocky start this season, and its 1-9-2 start led to the dismissal of head coach Jeremy Colliton. The Hawks installed interim coach Derek King to replace him, and they've been on the upswing since. Chicago is 9-6-1 since King took over the reins.
In a dozen games under Colliton, the Hawks allowed 47 goals for an average of just a shade under four goals a game. They've tightened up considerably since King was installed behind the bench, allowing just 39 goals (an average of 2.6 per game) in his 15 games.
Regardless of which coach is behind the bench, the Hawks have not been an offensive juggernaut. They've scored more than four goals in a game just once this season, and that was in Colliton's lone victory before his departure, a 5-1 win over Ottawa on Nov. 1.
"I thought that they're competing really well," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette of the Blackhawks. "From an offensive standpoint, I think it's important that we're really working hard, because they're man-on-man. They don't start man-on-man, but they can get to man-on-man, and that can be difficult to play against; you've got to have some game to your game. I thought that they did that well. They compete hard.
"I think they're always dangerous. There are players on that team who are just dangerous. Patrick Kane is dangerous, [and Alex] DeBrincat. Just guys that are skilled, and you've got to pay attention to. When we go into these games, we work on things - even today, we work on things - based on the opponent that we're playing. We understand what the opponent is doing, we understand what Chicago is doing, but I always think that our best success comes when we work at our game plan and our identity defensively, our identity offensively, and we take care of the puck. Those things usually lead to good games, regardless of the opponent."