Let’s Jet – Days after finishing a sweep of a three-game homestand, the Caps take to the road for a pair of games against a pair of formidable opponents this week. The first stop is Winnipeg, where Washington will face the Jets, leaders of the Western Conference and the stingiest team in the NHL at 5-on-5. Two nights later, they’ll finish the trip in Minnesota against the Wild, which is tied for fourth in the League in goals against at 5-on-5.
“We’re trying to break it up right now,” says Caps coach Spencer Carbery of the dozen games remaining on Washington’s schedule as it embarks upon this trip. “We haven’t really talked at all about seeding, playoffs. I feel like there is still enough runway for us to focus on certain things.
“We tried to break it up and look at those home games [last week] as opportunities to play well on home ice, talk about our identity and what that looks like in some details inside of our game – of how we make it uncomfortable for opposing teams, how we generate momentum, our starts. I thought we did a pretty good job through those three games, and now we’ll break it up and just look at these next two on the road.
“It’s a good opportunity for our group to go on the road, play against two really good teams that are hard, heavy, don’t give you much. [They] are going to be playing at a real high level – and urgency level – inside of their game; Minnesota and Winnipeg for sure. Both games are going to be really difficult, in a hostile environment, both. If you’ve ever been to Winnipeg or Minnesota, tough place to play; the crowd gets into it, and we lose match-ups. We’ve got to be able to work through those things.
“So we’ll look at just these two, and then we’ll travel back, take [Friday] off. And then there’s another portion where we play a ton of games at the beginning of April. I want to say it’s five [games] in eight [nights], maybe. So we’ll tackle that and we’ll start to check some boxes of what we’re trying to do big picture-wise to prepare for the playoffs.”
The first NHL team to nail down a playoff berth this season, Washington enters tonight’s game with nine wins in its last 10 games.
“It’s been a fun year,” says Caps right wing Tom Wilson. “Obviously, it’s crunch time now and everyone is making sure that they’re trying to hit their stride before playoffs. We’ve got a tight group in there, it’s been a fun year, and we’ve been executing for the most part the entire season. But you want to be hitting your stride, making sure you feel good about your game, and obviously tonight is a big test, and something we’re excited for.”
The Heavyweights – Washington and Winnipeg own the best two records in the League to date and both sit atop the standings of their respective conferences. Washington leads the NHL in goals per game (3.66) and ranks third in goals against per game (2.54). Winnipeg leads the NHL in goals against per game (2.38) and it ranks third in goals scored per game (3.45).
Tuesday’s game marks the 17th time since 2000 that the top teams in each conference meet in a head-to-head matchup beyond the 50th game of the season. It’s also just the seventh time – and second this season; the Caps-Jets game in DC on Feb. 1 was the first – since 1976 that the top two teams from each conference battle beyond the 50-game mark, and with both teams ranking within the top three in goals for and goals against.
The first four of those meetings came in the late 1970s; the fifth featured Boston and San Jose on Feb. 10, 2009. That makes this season’s two instances the first in the League in a decade and a half.
“Their transition game, big problem for us in our building,” says Carbery of the Feb. 1 meeting between the Caps and Jets. “So that’s something that we’re going to have to pay attention to. For my money, their top six [forward group] is as good as any in the National Hockey League. That top line can make you pay in so many different ways, whether it’s [offensive] zone movement wise, off the rush, delays, finding second wave defensemen getting up in the rush, and then you combine that with [defenseman Josh] Morrissey and great goaltending and you have every box checked for an elite, elite team, and they gave us a lot of trouble in our building.
“I think the big thing out of that game – especially against their top six – is we’re going to have to be on our toes in transition. And when we have the puck, and now all of a sudden we don’t have the puck, what does that look like, and what does that turn into for them? Are we able to handle that? Tonight, that’ll be a big part of the game.”
In The Nets – Logan Thompson gets the net for the Caps tonight against Winnipeg. In winning his 19th game in 23 starts (19-2-2) on Saturday against Florida, Thompson stopped each of the last 28 shots he faced over the game’s final 40 minutes.
Lifetime against the Jets, Thompson is 3-1-1 in six appearances – five starts – with a 3.27 GAA and an .898 save pct.
Connor Hellebuyck is the expected starter for the Jets. Hellebuyck leads all NHL netminders with six shutouts, a 2.06 GAA, a .924 save pct. and in the most important metric of all for goaltenders, 40 wins. It’s the second 40-win season for Hellebuyck, and it may lead to a second consecutive Vezina Trophy for the Michigan native, who also won it in 2019-20.
Lifetime against the Capitals, Hellebuyck is 6-5-2 with a pair of shutouts, a 2.36 GAA and a .920 save pct. in 13 appearances, all starts.
All Lined Up – Here’s how we believe the Capitals and the Jets might look on Tuesday night in Manitoba’s capital city:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 17-Strome, 21-Protas
24-McMichael, 80-Dubois, 43-Wilson
88-Mangiapane, 20-Eller, 16-Raddysh
22-Duhaime, 26-Dowd, 72-Beauvillier
Defensemen
38-Sandin, 74-Carlson
6-Chychrun, 57-van Riemsdyk
42-Fehervary, 3-Roy
Goaltenders
48-Thompson
79-Lindgren
Extras
27-Alexeyev
52-McIlrath
53-Frank
Out/Injured
15-Milano (upper body)
19-Backstrom (hip)
77-Oshie (back)
WINNIPEG
Forwards
81-Connor, 55-Scheifele, 9-Iafallo
27-Ehlers, 7-Namestnikov, 22-Appleton
62-Niederreiter, 17-Lowry, 91-Perfetti
36-Barron, 15-Kupari, 73-Tanev
Defensemen
44-Morrissey, 2-DeMelo
54-Samberg, 5-Schenn
64-Stanley, 6-Miller
Goaltenders
37-Hellebuyck
1-Comrie
Extras
14-Heinola
19-Gustafsson
24-Fleury
Out/Injured
4-Pionk (lower body)
13-Vilardi (upper body)
