Dec. 16 vs. Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena
Time: 8:00 p.m.
TV: MNMT
Stream: MonSports.net/Stream
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Capitals Radio 24/7
Washington Capitals (14-8-4)
Nashville Predators (17-13-0)
Winners of three straight sets of back-to-back games, the Caps will focus their attentions on a fourth set when they face the Predators in Nashville on Saturday night in the middle match of a three-game road trip. Washington concludes the back-to-back set on Sunday night in Raleigh when it faces the Carolina Hurricanes for the first time this season.
The Caps started the trip on Thursday night in Philly, suffering a stinging 4-3 shootout loss in their first look at the Flyers in 2023-24. Thursday’s loss left a mark because the Caps held a 3-2 lead late in the contest, and they were minutes away from claiming two points and leaving the Flyers with none. But Owen Tippett’s tying goal with 2:59 remaining in regulation forced overtime, and Philly outdid the Caps in the skills competition to claim two critical points in the tightly bunched Metropolitan Division standings, forcing Washington to settle for a single.
Thursday’s game marked the third time this season the Caps let a third-period lead slip away in a loss; they’ve eked out a point in each of those setbacks, but neither of the first two instances occurred against a divisional foe.
Washington has collected points in four straight games (2-0-2), and each of its last four victories have come in its last two sets of back-to-back situations. After having three sets of back-to-backs in the first 60 days of the season, the Caps are now in the midst of a busy stretch in which they’re playing five sets of back-to-backs in 26 days. Washington has back-to-backs – and three games in four nights – every week for five weeks, and they’re currently in the second of those five weeks.
While that is a challenging and daunting patch of scheduling that is also heavy with travel, it’s not without its pluses.
“I think there’s challenges, but there’s also benefits to being able to play quite a bit, and get right back at it,” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery. “And we’ll use today for the guys who have played a lot of minutes [Thursday] night as sort of a mental and physical recharge.
“We talked a little but about some of the things that went on from a structure standpoint [Thursday] night, get refreshed, get them out of here and on their way, and focused on Nashville first, but then also the back-to-back [on Sunday] in Carolina. So there are challenges with that in playing, but I think guys also like to get right back at it and play again and start to feel good about their game and confident, especially when you’re getting results and you’re scoring a little bit.”
On Friday in Nashville, the Caps conducted an optional practice. Most of its regulars and heavy minutes munchers took that option, but Evgeny Kuznetsov was a full participant a night after missing Thursday’s game in Philly because of illness, and Max Pacioretty continues to work toward his return from a torn Achilles’ suffered last January while he was with the Hurricanes.
“[Kuznetsov is] feeling better,” says Carbery. “Still not 100 percent, so we’ll see for [Saturday]. But a good sign of him, to get back on the ice this morning.”
Washington essentially played Thursday’s game with three centers, each of whom logged more than 20 minutes in ice time in the game in Philadelphia. All three took their option on Friday, and understandably so. Getting Kuznetsov back in a sweater for Saturday night would be helpful.
Pacioretty participated in Friday’s session in a red sweater, shedding the familiar light blue non-contact jersey, and engaging in some more physical, battle type drills.
“He’s getting there,” says Carbery. “He is starting to take some contact and do some one-on-ones, some small area battles, some bumping up against the wall, and up against opposition. So he continues to progress; we’re getting closer and closer.”
Nashville is in action on this Friday night, facing the Canes down in Carolina, so Saturday’s skirmish with the Capitals will be the Preds’ second game in as many nights. Nashville finds itself in a cluster of teams in the middle of the pack in the Central Division; the Preds are sitting in fourth place at the beginning of the night, three points south of third-place Dallas and three points clear of fifth-place St. Louis.
In their first season under new head coach Andrew Brunette and new GM Barry Trotz – both of whom have received paychecks from the Caps over the years – the Predators rolled out to a rocky 5-10-0 start. But they’ve been hotter than Nashville chicken since; the Preds enter tonight’s tilt in Carolina with five wins in their last six games and 11 victories in their last 14 contests (11-3-0).
“A good team,” says Carbery of the Preds. “I like their back end. Obviously, they have the goaltending, but then the addition of Ryan O’Reilly – who I know quite well from our time together last year [in Toronto] – sort of gives them another punch, and he’s playing at a real high level. To add him with the [Filip] Forsbergs of the world, they’re producing and playing [well]. And part of that is the new coaching staff and that is they’re causing teams a lot of issues defensively. So that’s what we’ll take a look at, and make sure we’re prepared for [Saturday] night.”
