Washington Capitals (24-11-3 51pts) v. St. Louis Blues (15-18-4 34pts)
Time: 8p EST
Station: NBC Sports Washington, Fox Sports Mid-West, and SportsNet 360
Preview:
The Washington Capitals will be kicking off their 2019 with a match up on the road as they take on the St. Louis Blues. The Capitals will be looking to bounce back from their 6-3 defeat at the hands of the Nashville Predators, while the Blues are looking to pick up a victory and try to turn their fortunes around.
Washington Capitals:
Projected Lineup:
Capitals Notes:
Keys to the Game:
1. Don’t Back Off
The capitals were playing great against a then struggling Nashville Predators only to back off when they took a 3-1 lead and then give up 5 unanswered goals to eventually lose the game. The Capitals can not do that against the Blues. Just because the Blues are second to last place in the NHL doesn’t mean you can over look them.
St. Louis Blues:
Projected Lineup:
Jaden Schwartz — Brayden Schenn — Vladimir Tarasenko
Alexander Steen — Ryan O’Reilly — David Perron
Pat Maroon — Tyler Bozak — Robert Thomas
Robby Fabbri — Ivan Barbashev — Oskar Sundqvist
Jay Bouwmeester — Alex Pietrangelo
Joel Edmundson — Colton Parayko
Vince Dunn — Robert Bortuzzo
Jake Allen
Evan Fitzpatrick
Scratched:Â Jordan Schmaltz
Injured: Carl Gunnarsson (hand)
Blues Notes:
Keys to the Game:
- How will Vladimir Tarasenko perform?
Tarasenko usually raises his game when going head-to-head with Ovechkin, so if he does that, and can break our of his 2 goals for his last 11 games slump, the Blues stand a small chance. If not, then the key is, flatly, to get lucky. The Capital are a more dominant team in every way – from forwards, to defensemen; depth to goaltending. Failing Tarasenko having a dominant game, any chance the Blues have in winning boils down to simple chance. – Aryan Weisenfeld (TXHT St. Louis Blues Writer)
