Washington Capitals (27-13-5 59pts) v. Nashville Predators (27-16-4 58pts)
Time: 8p EST
Station: NBC Sports Washington, Fox Sports Tennessee, and SportsNet
Preview:
The Washington Capitals head to Nashville for the second game of their back to back as they take on the Predators. The Capitals who are struggling are looking to turn the tide and do so against the Predators. Biggest question is will the Capitals come to play, or will they go through the motions like they did last night against St. Louis?
Washington Capitals:
Projected Lineup:
Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie
Brett Connolly — Lars Eller — Travis Boyd
Chandler Stephenson — Andre Burakovsky — Devante Smith-Pelly
Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen
Michal Kempny — John Carlson
Brooks Orpik — Madison Bowey
Braden Holtby
Pheonix Copley
Scratched: Nic Dowd, Jonas Siegenthaler, Dmitrij Jaskin
Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh)
Keys to the Game:
1. Play motivated
The Capitals need to come out and play with some urgency because lately they look like they’ve been going through the motions, and that’s not good enough. The Capitals need to play motivated and play their game seriously and not lackadaisically.
2. Stop being predictable
The Capitals right now are very predictable with how they are playing and teams are exploiting that to their benefit. The Capitals need to mix it up, especially on the powerplay, and challenge the Predators.
Nashville Predators:
Projected Lineup:
Filip Forsberg — Ryan Johansen — Viktor Arvidsson
Kevin Fiala — Colton Sissons — Craig Smith
Calle Jarnkrok — Nick Bonino — Austin Watson
Ryan Hartman — Frederick Gaudreau — Rocco Grimaldi
Roman Josi — Ryan Ellis
Mattias Ekholm — P.K. Subban
Dan Hamhuis — Matt Irwin
Juuse Saros
Pekka Rinne
Scratched: Anthony Bitetto, Zac Rinaldo, Phillip Di Giuseppe
Injured: Yannick Weber (undisclosed), Kyle Turris (lower body), Miikka Salomaki (upper body)
Keys to the Game:
1. Force the play
The Capitals have been struggling at all aspects of the game lately and the Predators will need to exploit that to their advantage.
