I thought a picture of Ovechkin laughing is appropriate right now.
The Capitals are finally home after their longest road trip of the season. The Caps took 6 out of 8 standings points on that trip. That smiling goof in the GIF above– he scored 8 points.
And yet the team still isn’t where want them. Holding onto a wild card spot is too humble. The Caps will play three of their next four at home and against three division teams. Now would be a good time to climb the standings.
Let’s start with the Winnipeg Jets, who aren’t really as bad as I have said. Puck drop at 7 PM on CSN.
| Team | Record | Possession | PDO | Power Play | Penalty Kill |
| Washington Capitals | 31-17-10 | 52.0% | 100.2 | 23.6% | 81.0% |
| Winnipeg Jets | 30-19-10 | 54.0% | 100.0 | 18.3% | 80.9% |
Projected Lineup
No changes. From Prewitt:
Ovechkin – Backstrom – Burakovsky
Johansson– Kuznetsov – Brouwer
Laich – Fehr – Ward
Beagle – Latta – Wilson
Orpik – Carlson
Alzner – Niskanen
Hillen– Green
Holtby
Best Mathieu Perreault GIF on the Internet
Obviously.
A Programming Note
I’m away on business, so I won’t be covering tonight’s game. I’ll be here:
Ian will run things for the most part, and the esteemed Emily Wright will cover the game recap. Emily is an accomplished musician and writer, and she actually plays the game. I’m delighted and thankful that she’s covering for me.
I also won’t be covering Saturday’s game because I’ll freaking be there in person! My first game at Verizon Center since Dale Hunter was coach. Woo.
Storylines
- The Caps are buzzing after a successful road trip.
- Steve Oleksy has been re-assigned to Hershey.
- The Caps have gotten much, much better when playing with a lead.
- Craig Laughlin was on Marek vs Wyshynski yesterday. Everyone’s fuming about Ovechkin vs Getzlaf and Ovechkin vs Letang, and we’re just sitting here like
- Fret not over Braden Holtby‘s heavy workload.
- Amazing work on Pensblog breaking down the Caps’ play in neutral on Tuesday.
- Beloved former Cap (who should never have been traded) Mathieu Perreault is out, probably for the season, with a lower-body injury.
- Last week, the Jets traded Zach Bogosian and Caps killer Evander Kane to the Buffalo Sabres. I think Big Buff is playing forward now?
Tweet Us Your Weird Ovi Bobblehead Photos
The Caps are giving away Alex Ovechkin bobbleheads tonight. So what we want you to do is rip this collectible out of the box, go to any Verizon Center concession stand, and tweet us a photo of ceramic Ovi going to town on some nachos. Or any other weird thing you can think of (more examples here). Ian will be collecting the photos for a post later.
What You’re Missing on TV Tonight
The Slap is on NBC at 8 PM. I’m not watching it, but I’ll watch this. Ellen rules. I’m an OG Ellen fan btw. I read her first book– when it came out– twenty years ago. I’m an Ellen hipster.
