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| WASHINGTON CAPITALS |
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14–4–6 (34 points; .708%) ROSTER / SCHEDULE |
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7:00 P.M. – SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4 CAPITAL ONE ARENA WASHINGTON, DC |
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BALLY SPORTS OHIO ESPN |
The Columbus Blue Jackets will look to avoid an 0-4-0 road trip Saturday when they face the Washington Capitals.
Columbus is in the midst of their biggest slump of the season. Games in St. Louis, Nashville, and Dallas have resulted in no wins, no points, and a 15-5 goal count in favor of the opposition — including a run of allowing 12 goals over just five periods.
Washington is feeling the frustration as well. For just the second time this season, the Capitals have lost consecutive games. After a Tuesday loss in Sunrise, Florida to the Panthers, the Capitals returned home and fell in a shootout to the suddenly resurgent Chicago Blackhawks.
Saturday's game from the Capital One Arena will get one team back on the right track. It's the second meeting of the season between the two, with the Capitals scoring late to defeat the Blue Jackets 4-3 at Nationwide Arena just under a month ago.
| BLUE JACKETS | CAPITALS | |
|---|---|---|
| 3.19 | GOALS FOR | 3.54 |
| 3.24 | GOALS AGAINST | 2.50 |
| 20.3% | POWER PLAY | 18.1% |
| 83.9% | PENALTY KILL | 82.5% |
| 30.1 | SHOTS FOR | 30.8 |
| 34.5 | SHOTS AGAINST | 28.3 |
| 50.3% | FACEOFF WINS | 47.0% |
| 28.5% | MONEYPUCK'S ODDS TO WIN | 71.5% |
| 33.0% | THE 538'S ODDS TO WIN | 67.0% |
| 93.7 | 82-GAME POINT PACE | 116.2 |
Know The Foe
The Washington Capitals are the only team in the NHL who are in the top five in both goals scored and goals allowed. Alex Ovechkin is as big of a reason for that as anything else. At 36, the future Hall-of-Famer is showing no signs of slowing down. His 19 goals and 19 assists give him a total of 38 points — more than anyone in the league who isn't on the Edmonton Oilers, where Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl seemingly have no chill (and a combined 84 points).
It's more than offense, though. The Capitals have been amongst the best without the puck. Only the Carolina Hurricanes and Seattle Kraken give up less shots per game than the Capitals, who give up just over nine shots per period on average (28.3 per game). The Blue Jackets have played both the Kraken and Hurricanes this season and managed just two combined regulation goals. (A third goal, scored in overtime, gave Columbus a win over Seattle.)
Goaltending has been a strong suit of Washington, as well. The two-headed monster of Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek have played almost identically well. Samsonov has a .915 save percentage to pair with a 2.56 goals against average, while Vanecek is at .905 and 2.52. In split time this season, the two have been 1 and 1A, and the combination is a dangerous one.
Storylines
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STOP AO, STOP WSH
They're not a one-dimensional team, but if the opposition can shut down Ovechkin, they're certainly in good position to win. He has 23% of the Capitals' goals this season and has assisted on another 23%. With 38 points on 85 total games, his name is attached to nearly half of Washington's offense. Washington is 10-0-2 in Ovechkin's multi-point games this season, and 1-3-1 in the five games he's been held scoreless.
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WHERE, OH WHERE, IS THE DEFENSE?
With the exception of the Thanksgiving Eve shutout of the Winnipeg Jets, the Blue Jackets have given up multiple goals in 15 straight games. Three goals or more in 12 of those 15. Four goals or more in eight of them. The blue line has to find a way to step up, considering the potency of the Washington attack.
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FIND A WAY
6-5? 2-1? It doesn't matter. The Blue Jackets do not want to return from their second-longest road trip of the season with the same number of points they left town with. Columbus has outperformed expectations through the first quarter of the season, but it's losing streaks like these can hurt the confidence of a young team. It's also the first half of back-to-back games, as the San Jose Sharks are resting Saturday in advance of a Sunday evening faceoff against the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. The difference between zero points and a team barely hanging onto .500 (12-11-0) against the idea of a team that's 14-9-0 and winners of two straight? Tremendous — which is how the Blue Jackets will need to play this weekend if they want to accomplish the latter.Projected Lines*
LW C RW 59 Yegor Chinakhov 34 Cole Sillinger 93 Jakub Voracek 14 Gustav Nyquist 38 Boone Jenner 28 Oliver Bjorkstrand 15 Gregory Hofmann 96 Jack Roslovic 16 Max Domi 50 Eric Robinson 7 Sean Kuraly 42 Alexandre Texier LD RD 8 Zach Werenski 22 Jake Bean 44 Vladislav Gavrikov 2 Andrew Peeke 5 Gavin Bayreuther 27 Adam Boqvist Starting Goalie Backup 90 Elvis Merzlikins 40 Daniil Tarasov *subject to change
