Caps Start Weeklong Trip in Anaheim
Caps open four-game West Coast trip against red hot Ducks on Tuesday
For the first time in nearly 21 months, the Capitals are leaving the Eastern Time Zone for a road trip. At noon on Monday the team boarded the bird to California, where Washington opens a four-game, weeklong road trip. The trip starts on Tuesday night in Anaheim against the Ducks, and the journey features two sets of back-to-back games and the Caps' first-ever NHL game in the state of Washington, against the expansion Seattle Kraken to conclude the journey on Sunday.
Thanks to a thorough 6-1 thumping of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday night in the District, the Capitals are carrying a four-game winning streak with them to the Golden State, their longest winning spree since a seven-game run from March 7-19 of this year.
The Caps scored twice in each period of Sunday's game, treating a weary Pittsburgh team to a frustrating evening in which it yielded six goals against for the second straight night on the road. Rookie defenseman Martin Fehervary touched off the six-pack attack with a shorthanded goal early in the first period.
"I think we can still be better," says Fehervary. "We did a good job, especially the second and third period, but the first period in the beginning we weren't really sharp. But when the game got going, we got way better."
Washington is in the thick of a thick portion of scheduling in which it plays seven games in 11 night, with six of the seven on the road. And all six of those road games are part of three sets of back-to-back games. The Caps' current winning streak is comprised of a sweep of that first set of back-to-backs - late last week in Detroit and Columbus, respectively - bookended by a pair of home ice victories.
"We're in the middle of it right now," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette, "with the back-to-backs, with the amount of games and the amount of days. And everybody deals with it. But it's nice to get some wins and get out on the road. I think the guys will be excited to get going on the road. We'll be ready."
The Caps have achieved their winning streak with four key cogs missing from their forward group. But two of the injured players - center Nic Dowd and right wing T.J. Oshie - are on the trip this week. A quartet of young players up from AHL Hershey has helped fill the void while Dowd, Oshie, Nicklas Backstrom and Anthony Mantha have been out of the lineup.
"I think the guys have done a really good job, the guys that have come up," says Laviolette. "I think the guys that have been here and the core of the team that's been in the lineup, they've really made it a point to make sure that we're moving right. And from that point, you need young guys chipping in. [Connor McMichael] has had some big moments and some big games, and I thought Axel [Jonsson-Fjallby] could have had a couple of goals [on Sunday]; he's playing really well.
"So guys are coming in and contributing, which is exactly what you need when you have injuries. We'll get through this, and those young guys contributing and playing the way they are, it just takes the burden off a little bit."
Tuesday's game features two of the League's three stars for the week ending Nov. 14. On Monday, the NHL announced that Caps captain Alex Ovechkin was the League's first star of the week, with two goals and eight points in four games. Ovechkin's second goal of the week - on Friday in Columbus - was the 742nd of his NHL career, pushing him past Brett Hull and into fourth place on the NHL's all-time goals list.
At 36, Ovechkin has 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists) in 15 games to open the season, the best 15-game start of his illustrious 17-year career.
Anaheim forward Troy Terry was named third star for the week. Terry had three goals and six points in three games last week, extending his point streak to a career-high 14 games (11 goals, nine assists). Terry's streak is the longest by an Anaheim player since Ryan Getzlaf rolled up a 14-game streak early in the 2013-14 season. Both Terry (20) and Getzlaf (17) have already matched their point totals from last season.
Tuesday's game also pits a pair of the NHL's top four teams in terms of goals per game this season. The Caps rank third with an average of 3.60 goals per game while Anaheim is right behind them at 3.56.
Having missed the playoffs for three straight seasons and coming off a last-place finish in the eight-team West Division last season, expectations weren't very high in Anaheim this season. But the Ducks are off to a great start, particularly at home.
Anaheim recorded its seventh straight win on Sunday night, downing Vancouver 5-1 in the opener of a three-game homestand at Honda Center. The Ducks are 6-2-1 on home ice this season, and five of the victories during their current winning streak have come at home. Anaheim has scored four or more goals in five of the seven wins, and it has outscored the opposition by a combined total of 30-11.
