Time: 9p EST
Station: NBC Sports Washington
Preview:
In the second game of their 4 game Western Canada trip, the Capitals take on an Edmonton Oilers team that is still looking for an identity. The Oilers had a strong showing in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins the other night, but is looking to build upon that game.
Projected Lineup:
Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Devante Smith-Pelly
Chandler Stephenson — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie
Jakub Vrana — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly
Dmitrij Jaskin — Nic Dowd — Andre Burakovsky
Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen
Michal Kempny — John Carlson
Brooks Orpik — Christian Djoos
Braden Holtby
Pheonix Copley
Scratched: Madison Bowey, Nathan Walker
Injured: Travis Boyd (leg)
Keys to the Game:
1. Push the Oilers in their own zone
Last season the Oilers did not have a great season and it has kind of rolled into this season of sorts, and one of the key people that needs to be is goaltender Cam Talbot. The Capitals need to push the play in Oilers zone and make Talbot uncomfortable, and generate a lot of scoring chances on Talbot.
2. Stay out of the penalty box
The one thing that can revitalize the Oilers is their powereplay and with threats like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the Oilers could take any opportunity while on the powerplay to change the game in their favor.
Edmonton Oilers:
Projected Lineup:
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins — Connor McDavid — Kailer Yamamoto
Tobias Rieder — Leon Draisaitl — Alex Chiasson
Milan Lucic — Ryan Strome — Drake Caggiula
Cooper Marody — Kyle Brodziak — Jujhar Khaira
Oscar Klefbom — Adam Larsson
Darnell Nurse — Kris Russell
Evan Bouchard — Kevin Gravel
Cam Talbot
Mikko Koskinen
Scratched: Jason Garrison, Jesse Puljujarvi
Injured: Matt Benning (undisclosed), Ty Rattie (upper body), Zack Kassian (undisclosed)
Keys to the Game:
1. Force the Capitals to take Penalties
The Oilers will need to force the Capitals to take penalties in this game, especially with the fact that the Caps have taken some really bad penalties this season so far.
First Period:
Capitals Penalty – 14:31 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Tripping
Oilers PPG – 16:28 – Evan Bouchard (1) from Kailer Yamamoto (1) and Tobias Rieder (2)
End of 1st – WAS – 0 EDM – 1
Shots 09 09
Faceoffs 13 10
Hits 10 05
PP 0/0 1/1
Analysis:
This was an ok period for the Capitals. They did well in the faceoff circle, and on a bad call by the officials, the Capitals looked to have killed the lone penalty of the period but the Oilers were able to get one past Holtby in the final seconds of the powerplay.
Need to Do:
The Capitals need to do a better job with their zone entries. They did an ok job of it, but they were not able to create many opportunities with how they got into the zone. Also the Capitals need to clog up Edmonton’s speed in the neutral zone.
Second Period:
Oilers Penalty – 9:19 – Milan Lucic 2 minutes for Cross Checking
Oilers SHG – 10:06 – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (3) from unassisted
Capitals Goal – 12:21 – Andre Burakovsky (1) from Nic Dowd (1) and John Carlson (9)
Capitals Penalty – 14:59 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Delay of Game
End of 2nd – WAS – 1 EDM – 2
Shots 18 23
Faceoffs 21 18
Hits 16 12
PP 0/1 1/2
Analysis:
This was not a pretty period for the Capitals. A lackluster powerplay resulted in a shorthanded goal against (seriously, stop doing the slingshot!!), and the Oilers outshot the Capitals 14-9. Braden Holtby though has been on top of his game in this one.
Need to Do:
The Capitals need to play their game and impose their will on the Oilers.
Third Period:
Capitals Penalty – 4:35 – Bench (Jaskin) 2 minutes for Delay of Game – Faceoff Violation
Oilers Goal – 9:16 – Alex Chiasson (3) from Tobias Reider (3) and Adam Larsson (3)
Capitals Penalty – 11:26 – Bench (Connolly) 2 minutes for Delay of Game
Oilers ENG – 18:43 – Connor McDavid (6) from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (8)
End of 3rd – WAS – 1 EDM – 4
Shots 32 32
Faceoffs 34 26
Hits 28 16
PP 0/1 1/4
Analysis:
This was not a great game for the Capitals. They did not play very well in any of the three zones and were not good at all on their lone powerplay. Their penalty kill was ok, but the penalties they took were also ridiculous too, and the officials need to be questioned on two the calls made against the Capitals, and about the ones that were obvious calls, but not called on the Oilers. All the Capitals can do now is regroup and prepare for Saturday when the visit Calgary to take on the Flames.
Next Up:
Washington (4-3-2 10pts) @ Calgary (5-5-0 10pts)
Edmonton (4-3- 9pts) @ Nashville (8-2-0 16pts)
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