Morning Skate Report: April 20, 2022

The Vegas Golden Knights (41-31-5) seek two important points as they host the Washington Capitals (43-23-10) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena.

NOTES
Vegas and Washington will close their season series on Wednesday. The Golden Knights are 1-0-0 against the Capitals this year.
Wednesday's game is the second to last home game of the regular season for Vegas.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: FOX Sports 98.9/1340 | Deportes Vegas 1460
LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Knights fell to the New Jersey Devils, 3-2, on Monday night at T-Mobile Arena. Keegan Kolesar and Chandler Stephenson scored for Vegas in the loss.
OPPOSITION UPDATE
Washington skates into Wednesday's contest sitting comfortably in the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with 96 points and a 43-23-10 record. The Capitals have a 16-point lead on the New York Islanders for the final playoff berth in the east. In their last 10 games, the Capitals have a 7-3-0 record including a 9-2 win against Philadelphia and an 8-4 win against Montreal. Washington defeated the Colorado Avalanche, 3-2, in their last outing.
Alexander Ovechkin continues his assault on the record books as he leads the Capitals in scoring with 87 points (48G, 39A) in 74 games. Evgeny Kuznetsov sits second on the team with 75 points (23G, 52A) while John Carlson leads all Washington defensemen with 68 points (15G, 53A) in 72 games played. Vitek Vanecek (19-11-5) and Ilya Samsonov (23-10-4) have split the Capitals' net this season.
SEASON SERIES
Michael Amadio scored the only goal in a 1-0 win for the Golden Knights against the Capitals on Jan. 24 at Capital One Arena.
VGK SCORING LEADERS
Jonathan Marchessault - 64 points (29G, 35A)
Chandler Stephenson - 58 points (18G, 40A)
Shea Theodore - 46 points (13G, 33A)
Alex Pietrangelo - 41 points (13G, 28A)
Evgenii Dadonov - 39 points (19G, 20A)
Reilly Smith - 37 points (16G, 21A)
Nicolas Roy - 36 points (14G, 22A)
William Karlsson - 31 points (11G, 20A)
Max Pacioretty - 31 points (16G, 15A)
Mark Stone - 28 points (8G, 20A)
WILD, WILD WEST
The race for the postseason is on in the Western Conference. Read below for the latest playoff picture as the end of the regular season approaches. Note: the top three teams in each division receive automatic playoff berths with two Wild Card spots available for the two teams with the next highest point totals.
PACIFIC DIVISION
x-Calgary Flames - 47-20-10, 104 points, five games remaining
Edmonton Oilers - 44-26-6, 94 points, six games remaining
Los Angeles Kings - 41-27-10, 92 points, four games remaining
CENTRAL DIVISION
z-Colorado Avalanche - 55-15-6, 116 points, six games remaining
x-Minnesota Wild - 48-21-7, 103 points, six games remaining
x-St. Louis Blues - 46-20-11, 103 points, five games remaining
WILD CARD
Nashville Predators - 44-28-5, 93 points, five games remaining
Dallas Stars - 43-28-5, 91 points, six games remaining
Vegas Golden Knights - 41-31-5, 87 points, five games remaining
Vancouver Canucks - 38-28-11, 87 points, five games remaining
A VEGAS VICTORY WOULD…
- Mark the 213th win in franchise history
- Give the Golden Knights a season sweep of Washington this year
KEYS TO THE GAME
Now or Never: Things have gotten extremely tight in the Western Conference playoff race. Vegas is getting very little help from other teams so it will need to control what it can control to gain ground on Wednesday.
Get the Saves You Need: Head Coach Pete DeBoer said after Monday's loss to New Jersey that the Golden Knights were outplayed in the goaltending position. A fresh mindset and new opportunity to go win a game is just what Vegas needs in the crease.