Anaheim now heads to D.C. with a tough test on tap, but does so with leading scorer Troy Terry back in the lineup. Terry has missed each of the club's last four games while he and his wife, Dani, welcomed their second child, a boy named Theo, earlier this week.
"A lot of emotions the last week or so and it's exciting," Terry said. "These guys are my closest friends, so it makes leaving home a little easier. I was excited to see everyone and get back in action tonight. I just want to say thank you to whole Ducks organization. They've been great through this process. I'm happy to be back."
Terry has found the scoresheet in five of his last six games, and owns five total points in his last three outings. He paces the club in nearly every offensive category, including points, goals and assists.
"I'm trying to keep the confidence that I felt like I was playing with before," Terry said. "Hopefully my linemates (Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano) will carry some of the weight for me early on and let me get back into it. Don't try to do too much early, just let myself settle into it."
Meanwhile on the other bench, as has been the case for Anaheim several times over the last few weeks, resides one of the best teams in the NHL - tonight a Capitals squad chasing a division crown with a star player chasing the sport's most illustrious record. Washington enters play Tuesday with points in seven straight games, most recently earning a 4-1 victory over Nashville on Saturday, sealed by captain Alex Ovechkin's 873rd career goal.
"They've got great special teams and they're built in a big, powerful way," Cronin said. "They've got big, strong, heavy forwards and defense. They make you earn your ice to the inside...There's a connectivity to the group that's real natural to them. And they can score. It's an offensive group."
That offensive group is led, for the 20th straight year, by Ovechkin, who now sits just 21 goals of Wayne Gretzky's NHL record. Ovechkin has recorded 12 goals in 25 career games against Anaheim, including three in his first career NHL hat trick, scored exactly 19 years ago and one day ago in Orange County. Ovechkin owns 20 goals in 27 games this season.
Washington (28-10-5, 61 points) leads the Eastern Conference and holds a five-point advantage on New Jersey for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division.