Time: 7p EST
Station: NBC Sports Washington
Preview:
In their first matchup of the 2018-19 season, the red hot Toronto Maple Leafs come to visit the defending Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals. This will be a battle of two high powered offenses, but what will the defense be like? Both teams have been involved in scoring affairs overall, which while is exciting for the fans, can be troublesome for the coaching staff.
Washington Capitals:
Projected Lineup:
Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Chandler Stephenson
Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie
Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly
Dmitrij Jaskin — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly
Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen
Michal Kempny — John Carlson
Brooks Orpik — Christian Djoos
Braden Holtby
Pheonix Copley
Keys to the Game:
1. Be consistent in the faceoff circle
Toronto has some very dangerous centers down the middle and if they win in the faceoff dot, the Maple Leafs will have complete control of the play. The Capitals need their centers to be at top form against the likes of John Tavares, Auston Matthews, and Nazem Kadri.
2. Play smart defensively
The Capitals have been a part of two very high scoring affairs against both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New Jersey Devils which saw the Capitals give up 6 plus goals in both games. The Capitals will have to make smarter plays in their own zone, and make more accurate clearing attempts to get the Capitals offense into the Maple Leafs zone.
For a preview of the Toronto Maple Leafs, please read Steve Gardiner’s preview here.
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