Washington Capitals (24-12-4 52pts) v. Detroit Red Wings (16-20-7 39pts)
Time: 5p EST
Station: NBC Sports Washington, Fox Sports Detroit, NHL Network
Preview:
The Washington Capitals head to Detroit to take on the Red Wings in the final game of their three game road trip to start 2019. The Capitals will look to get their first win of 2019 as they build upon their 3-2 overtime loss the other night in Dallas against the Stars. Meanwhile, the Red Wings are still embattled with injuries and will be looking to to win their second straight game.
Washington Capitals:
Projected Lineup:
Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie
Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly
Chandler Stephenson — Travis Boyd — Devante Smith-Pelly
Michal Kempny — John Carlson
Matt Niskanen — Dmitry Orlov
Brooks Orpik — Madison Bowey
Braden Holtby
Pheonix Copley
Scratched: Nic Dowd, Dmitrij Jaskin, Jonas Siegenthaler
Injured: Christian Djoos (leg)
Keys to the Game:
1. Be consistent in the faceoff circle
The other night against the Dallas Stars, the Capitals were dominated in the faceoff circle and they will need to remedy that against the Red Wings. Winning faceoffs is key to puck possession especially in the offensive and defensive zones.
2. Keep your feet moving
One of the benefits the Capitals had against the Stars was they kept their feet moving and they were winning the battles against the Stars. They need to build upon that against the Red Wings and force the play in the Red Wings zone.
Detroit Red Wings:
Projected Lineup:
Gustav Nyquist — Dylan Larkin — Tyler Bertuzzi
Thomas Vanek — Frans Nielsen — Anthony Mantha
Darren Helm — Luke Glendening — Andreas Athanasiou
Michael Rasmussen — Jacob de la Rose — Justin Abdelkader
Niklas Kronwall — Filip Hronek
Nick Jensen — Dennis Cholowski
Jonathan Ericsson — Luke Witkowski
Jimmy Howard
Jonathan Bernier
Scratched: Martin Frk, Brian Lashoff, Christoffer Ehn
Injured: Evgeny Svechnikov (knee surgery), Danny DeKeyser (hand), Mike Green (foot), Trevor Daley (foot)
Keys to the Game:
1. Force the play
The Red Wings defeated the Nashville Predators the other night by forcing the play in the offensive zone, and they are going to have to do the same against the Capitals.
