Anaheim Ducks (13-10-5 31pts) v. Washington Capitals (15-7-3 33pts)
Time: 3p EST
Station: NBC Sports Washington
Preview:
The Washington Capitals look to continue their winning ways before heading out west as they host the Anaheim Ducks for a Sunday afternoon matinee. While the Capitals will be looking for their 8th consecutive victory, the Ducks are 5-1-0 in their past six games and will be looking for their fourth consecutive victory.
Ducks Note:
The other night’s overtime victory over the Carolina Hurricanes marked a Franchise milestone.
Anaheim Ducks:
Projected Lineup:
Rickard Rakell — Ryan Getzlaf — Jakob Silfverberg
Nick Ritchie — Adam Henrique — Ondrej Kase
Andrew Cogliano — Ryan Kesler — Kiefer Sherwood
Brian Gibbons — Carter Rowney — Pontus Aberg
Hampus Lindholm — Brandon Montour
Jacob Larsson — Josh Manson
Marcus Pettersson — Jake Dotchin
John Gibson
Ryan Miller
Scratched: Andy Welinski, Ben Street, Josh Mahura
Injured: Corey Perry (knee surgery), Cam Fowler (facial fractures), Patrick Eaves (back spasms)
Keys to the Game:
1. Use their size
The Ducks have a big team, and the Capitals have not been the most physical team. The Ducks will need to use that to their advantage, and wear down the Capitals.
Washington Capitals:
Projected Lineup:
Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Brett Connolly
Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Devante Smith-Pelly
Chandler Stephenson — Nic Dowd — Dmitrij Jaskin
Michal Kempny — John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen
Christian Djoos — Madison Bowey
Braden Holtby
Pheonix Copley
Scratched: Jonas Siegenthaler, Travis Boyd
Injured: T.J. Oshie (concussion), Brooks Orpik (knee surgery)
Keys to the Game:
1. Get a good start
The other night the Capitals started both the 1st and 2nd periods with hot starts by scoring quickly, but they then were dominated for the most part by the New Jersey Devils. However, despite the Devils best efforts, the Capitals persevered and won the game. The Capitals will need to get the jump on the Ducks, and expect the same.
2. Stay out of the box
The Capitals need to stay out of the penalty box and allow themselves the ability to roll all four lines. Also the Capitals need to do a better job at drawing penalties as well.
