Tonight, the Capitals face off against the up-and-coming Colorado Avalanche. It’s the Caps’ third game of the season, and Barry Trotz has made some, er, interesting lineup changes as he prepares to do battle with Jared Bednar, the Avs’ new coach (formerly of the South Carolina Stingrays.)
If the Avalanche’s revamped brand of high-scoring (and low-possession) hockey isn’t reason enough to tune in, tonight’s contest will feature a special pre-game ceremony honoring Braden Holtby. In an ironic twist that will be taught by English teachers ever after, Holtby was Holtbenched in favor of backup goalie Philipp Grubauer.
Bonus points for whoever correctly identifies the type of irony (situational, dramatic, or verbal) exhibited by Trotz’s decision to sit tonight’s honoree. In the meantime, puck drop is at 7 PM on CSN.
| Team | Record | Possession | PDO | Power Play | Penalty Kill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capitals | 1-0-1 | 56.5% | 96.3 | 0.0% | 50.0% |
| Avalanche | 2-0-0 | 48.3% | 103.0 | 44.4% | 55.5% |
Projected Lineup
Tonight, the lineup sees some tweaks for the first time this year. Brett Connolly is in for Zach Sanford, and as mentioned, Grubauer will see his first start.
Ovechkin – Kuznetsov – Oshie
Johansson – Backstrom – Burakovsky
Connolly – Eller – Williams
Winnik – Beagle – Wilson
Alzner – Niskanen
Orlov – Carlson
Orpik – Schmidt
Grubauer
Storylines
- TJ Oshie is an Avs-killer, with 21 points in 25 games against the team from Denver.
- The Caps’ 5-on-4 scoring-machine has gotten rusty and isn’t running on all cylinders. Don’t panic just yet, but it sure will be satisfying to see that first Ovi power-play bullet hit the back of the net.
- After last night, the Caps are third in the league in score-adjusted 5v5 shot attempt percent, and fifth when unadjusted (via corsica.hockey). Good first steps.
- The “Tre Kronor” line has been the Caps’ best by just about any metric. But I especially like that Johansson, Burakovsky and Backstrom are keeping shot attempts against to around 40 per 60 minutes, lowest among Caps forwards (via Corsica.)
- Speaking of Swedes, young Andre Burakovsky has been seeing a sports psychologist. That time on the couch has paid off to the tune of consecutive strong games.
- On the other end of the age spectrum is 39-year-old Jarome Iginla, who scored his 612th goal last night. Let’s hope he leaves the 613th for another day.
- Our old pal Mike Green notched his first career hat trick last night during the Red Wings’ home opener. Congrats, Greenie!
#Priorities
Regarding Holtby not starting on night he’s being honored, Trotz: “I didn’t toss and turn about it.”
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) October 18, 2016
