Ooh Las Vegas -The Caps are in Las Vegas, scene of their Stanley Cup triumph nearly five years ago, and they're seeking to build upon an excellent Thursday night performance in Arizona in the opener of their three-game western trip. Washington has never won a regular season game here in Vegas - it is 0-3-1 in its previous four visits - but it won two of three Stanley Cup Final games here to win the Cup in June of 2018.
SKATE SHAVINGS - News and Notes From Caps' Morning Skate
"I think this city and this arena is always going to be a special place for a lot of us guys here," says Caps center Nicklas Backstrom. "Looking back to 2018, it was an incredible atmosphere here, and there were a lot of Caps fans over here, too. It was a lot of fun, and something that we'll never forget."
Taking two points from Vegas tonight won't be easy. The Golden Knights are finishing up a seven-game homestand tonight, and they open up a lengthy road trip tomorrow in Arizona. Vegas comes into tonight lugging a three-game losing streak - all in regulation, its longest losing run of the season - and with a 2-4-0 mark for the homestand to date.
"We're planning for a top team in the division," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette of the Knights. "They've found success; they're a top team. You never know how any game is going to play out, but they're going to be ready to play tonight. Their home record, I'm sure they want to work on that and push that to a different level, so they're going to be ready to play tonight.
"But they've been a top team in the League and a top team in their division. We're going to have to be sharp tonight; they're going to be ready to play."
Vegas enters tonight's game tied with Seattle for the top spot in the Pacific Division. Washington enters tonight's game with a question mark on the left side of its top line; Caps captain Alex Ovechkin did not partake in Saturday's morning skate, taking a "maintenance" day. Anthony Mantha, a healthy scratch in each of the last two and for four of the last six games, filled that slot at morning skate, and he did not stay out to skate late with the other scratches, as would normally be the case. Laviolette termed Ovechkin's availability "a decision tonight."
Ovechkin is one of six Capitals who have suited up and played in each of the team's first 48 games this season.
Fighting My Way Back - Both Backstrom and Tom Wilson are six games into their respective comebacks from offseason surgeries after missing the first half of the season, and both seem to be looking more like their previous on-ice selves with each passing game.
"Honestly, it's better than I could ever dream of," says Backstrom. "It feels good, and it feels better and better for every game. Hopefully, I can just keep building, but otherwise it's just such an amazing feeling to be back out there and to just feel like normal."
"I didn't really come in with a huge expectation," says Wilson. "I just wanted to kind of take it day-by-day. The first couple [games] obviously you're getting your reps back, getting your feet under you. When you miss that much time, you're not going to be 100 percent for a little bit, but you just chip away and try to play your best, and a handful of games in, you start to feel better and you start to feel more comfortable out there. Injury or whatever aside, you start to feel a little better. The body is reacting however it's going to react, and it's holding up pretty good. It's nice to get back out there, get back up to speed and push your body and take it day-by-day."
The Backstrom-Wilson duo has played on the same line with Sonny Milano for a handful of games now, with mostly positive results, and the Milano-Backstrom-Wilson trio was at its best on Thursday in Arizona, dominating possession and scoring the Caps' second goal of the game on the forecheck in the back half of the second period.
"It's funny," says Wilson. "Obviously Nick and I have spent a ton of time together this year, and then we come back and we're playing together, so it was sink or swim. We had to figure it out. We had to get through it together. Nick is such an easy player to play with; you just get him the puck and get open, and I think Sonny is figuring that out, too. When you're playing with Backy, you can just get to areas of the ice and the puck will arrive, and you'll get good looks.
"We've had pretty good looks the last couple of games, and we're starting to feel each other out and play better together, and we've just got to keep building on it. It's going to take a little bit more of a sample size, and we've just got to keep trending in the right direction."
"I think so far, so good," says Backstrom of his line. "We had a bad game there against [Minnesota on Tuesday]. Other than that, I think the chemistry is coming along. We're creating chances, and that's what we talk about a lot. We've got to be one of those lines that creates a lot, and make sure we're good in the [defensive] zone as well. That's something we talk about as a unit."
The Minnesota game to which Backstrom refers - a 4-2 loss at home on Tuesday - was the second of a set of back-to-back games.
"I think the back-to-backs [earlier in the week] was a challenge for guys who missed all of training camp and the start of the season," says Laviolette. "And so throw that one out, and I think that that line - and especially Nick and Tom - have gotten better every game. And so last game was - maybe for me - their best game. Sonny has been a really good fit on that line and Nick continues to get stronger and more confident, Same with Tom. And that line has been very good."
In The Nets -Darcy Kuemper will be in net for Washington tonight, two nights after a 26-save shutout over his former team in Arizona. Kuemper leads the NHL with five shutouts, and his Thursday night whitewash of the Coyotes was the 30th of his NHL career.
Four of his five shutouts have come in his last 15 starts, during which Kuemper has fashioned a 9-2-3 record with a 2.10 GAA and a .931 save pct.
Lifetime against the Golden Knights, Kuemper is 6-5-3 in 15 appearances (14 starts), with a shutout, a 2.08 GAA and a .937 save pct.
We're expecting to see Logan Thompson in net for Vegas. Named to the Pacific Division All-Star Team for All-Star Weekend on Feb. 3-4, Thompson was originally signed by the Capitals as an undrafted free agent following the 2018-19 season. He spent the '19-20 campaign backstopping Washington's ECHL South Carolina affiliate, and then signed with Vegas the following offseason. The 25-year-old Calgary native is 18-12-1 with a couple of shutouts on the season, along with a 2.72 GAA and a .913 save pct.
Lifetime against the Caps, Thompson is 2-0-0 with a 2.32 GAA and an .889 save pct. in two appearances (one start).
All Lined Up -Here's how we believe the Capitals and Golden Knights might look on Saturday night when they meet up at T-Mobile Arena:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
39-Mantha, 17-Strome, 96-Aube-Kubel
15-Milano, 19-Backstrom, 43-Wilson
73-Sheary, 20-Eller, 77-Oshie
90-Johansson, 92-Kuznetsov, 21-Hathaway
Defensemen
56-Gustafsson, 57-van Riemsdyk
9-Orlov, 3-Jensen
27-Alexeyev, 42-Fehervary
Goaltenders
35-Kuemper
79-Lindgren
Healthy Extras
52-Irwin
59-Protas
Injured
8-Ovechkin (maintenance/undisclosed)
26-Dowd (lower body)
28-Brown (lower body)
62-Hagelin (hip)
74-Carlson (upper body)
VEGAS
Forwards
20-Stephenson, 9-Eichel, 22-Amadio
19-Smith, 71-Karlsson, 81-Marchessault
46-Rondbjerg, 51-Froese, 8-Kessel
43-Cotter, 10-Roy, 55-Kolesar
Defensemen
14-Hague, 7-Pietrangelo
3-McNabb, 6-Korczak
23-Martinez, 17-Hutton
Goaltenders
36-Thompson
33-Hill
Healthy Extras
42-Miromanov
Injured
2-Whitecloud (lower body)
16-Dorofeyev (undisclosed)
21-Howden (lower body)
27-Theodore (leg)
41-Patrick (upper body)
61-Stone (upper body)
90-Lehner (hip)
