St. Louis Blues (19-20-4 42pts) v. Washington Capitals (27-12-5 59pts)
Time: 7p EST
Station: NBC Sports Washington and Fox Sports Midwest
Preview:
The Washington Capitals and the St. Louis Blues are facing off for the 2nd and final time this season in a matter of two weeks. When these two faced off last on January 3rd it would be the Blues dominating the Capitals 5-2 in St. Louis. The Capitals will look to avenge that loss and return to their winning ways after their defeat to Columbus the other night. Meanwhile the Blues will be looking for their third straight victory.
St. Louis Blues:
Projected Lineup:
Jaden Schwartz — Brayden Schenn — Vladimir Tarasenko
Zach Sanford — Ryan O’Reilly — David Perron
Pat Maroon — Oskar Sundqvist — Jordan Kyruo
Jordan Nolan — Ivan Barbashev — Sammy Blais
Joel Edmundson — Alex Pietrangelo
Jay Bouwmeester — Colton Parayko
Vince Dunn — Robert Bortuzzo
Jake Allen
Jordan Binnington
Scratched: Robby Fabbri, Mackenzie MacEachern, Carl Gunnarsson
Injured: Tyler Bozak (upper body), Alexander Steen (shoulder), Robert Thomas (upper body)
Keys to the Game:
1. Force the play
The reason the Blues were 5-2 victors over the Capitals on January 3rd is because they forced the play upon the Capitals. If they play with the same formula, and not deviate from their gameplan the Blues will have a very solid chance of sweeping the season series against the Capitals for the first time since 2014-15.
Washington Capitals:
Projected Lineup:
Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie
Brett Connolly — Lars Eller — Andre Burakovsky
Chandler Stephenson — Travis Boyd — Devante Smith-Pelly
Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen
Michal Kempny — John Carlson
Brooks Orpik — Madison Bowey
Pheonix Copley
Braden Holtby
Scratched: Nic Dowd, Dmitrij Jaskin, Jonas Siegenthaler
Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh)
Keys to the Game:
1. Play Strong, Rise above
The Capitals need to play a strong game against everyone from this point out, and it needs to start tonight against the Blues. The Capitals need to rise above and force the play upon their opponents in their own zone.
