If the Washington Capitals win tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins, they will have ten wins in a row. This will also mean that the Metro division will have 3 teams with double-digit win streaks in the last two months (Flyers and Jackets are the other two). What the heck. Tune in to watch the Capitals try to extend the streak, Holtby return to the net, and so much more.
Puck drop is at 7:00 PM. It will be a very fun game so, of course, you can find it on NBCSN.
| Team | Record | SA% | PDO | Power Play | Penalty Kill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 26-11-5 | 51.3% | 100.9 | 22.8% | 78.2% |
| Washington Capitals | 29-9-5 | 53.5% | 103.1 | 18.5% | 86.5% |
Projected Lines
The Caps had a poorly attended optional skate early this morning, so we don’t have a concrete lineup. What we do know is John Carlson is out with a lower-body injury (but is likely to return Thursday). So please everyone, sound the Chorn Horn and welcome Taylor Chorney back to the lineup. Here’s our best guess at what the D-pairings will look like.
Ovechkin – Backstrom– Oshie
Johansson – Kuznetsov – Williams
Connolly – Eller – Burakovsky
Winnik – Beagle – Wilson
Alzner – Niskanen
Orpik – Orlov
Schmidt – Chorney
Holtby
The Penguins will also be without their star defenseman. Kris Letang was placed on injured reserve this morning. Matt Murray will start in goal.
Throwback Monday
Awwwwwwwwww yeah
11 years ago today. #TheGoal @ovi8 https://t.co/FUaanfe7PA
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 16, 2017
ICYMI
PHI-WSH: Turned into a laugher real fast. Caps wrapped up Giroux pretty nicely. Kuz line had trouble with Schenn line but good otherwise. pic.twitter.com/BFZNPemKqo
— Muneeb Alam (@muneebalamcu) January 15, 2017
Storylines
- NICK BACKSTROM: FIRST STAR.
- How good are the Caps right now? Probably TOO good.
- Lucca Carlson was very excited to run and meet his hero.
- Alex Ovechkin continues to rule the world, but this assist is one for the ages.
- Ovechkin meets some cute lil’ mites on ice after the last game.
- When at a football game where the team is red, just wear Caps gear.
- The Caps goaltending is legit af. Braden Holtby and Philipp Grubauer have pitched shutouts in 4 of their last 6 games. Then there’s top prospect goaltender Ilya Samsonov who is dominating the KHL as a 19-year-old.
- These are pictures from Amanda you really need to see.
RMNB’s wrestler of the day
Is NXT’x Tye Dillinger: The Perfect 10. Hailing from Niagara Falls, Canada, this lovable loser is a great workhorse in the ring but always falls short in the big match. If the Caps can extend their win streak to a perfect 10 games, we hope you will join us from home, raising both of your arms in the air and flashing both of your palms out. 10, 10, 10.

Beautiful people
Finally, we need to take a minute to salute all the RMNB readers who are rocking our Deadguins/I Hate PA shirts around their naked chests today.
@russianmachine it’s a #deadguins kind of day! #LetsGoCaps pic.twitter.com/TE7U48D9oK
— Chasing The Puck (@CTP_blog) January 16, 2017
@russianmachine pic.twitter.com/I5u8AN5yyv
— sadie ♀️ (@sadie_mahaffey) January 16, 2017
@russianmachine I’ve got mine! #CapsPens pic.twitter.com/PqBHRV4UNi
— B Doucet (@Enforcer5_0) January 16, 2017
@russianmachine Since we just played Philly I’m going with this one today pic.twitter.com/K61UJVP0Y9
— Mike L. (@fakeplasticmike) January 16, 2017
@russianmachine always pic.twitter.com/QzCW0IRpuO
— Nathan Johnson (@TWA_Fan0123) January 16, 2017
@russianmachine officed up with a lovely cardigan pic.twitter.com/a8y0sSi6iP
— #capstrash (@heyjulieann) January 16, 2017
@russianmachine no work means it can be worn all day. pic.twitter.com/QJbFlITlvF
— Stephen Luhman (@SLuhman) January 16, 2017
Had a grad meeting this morning, seemed only fitting to where this kickass shirt to kick off my last semester #CapsPens pic.twitter.com/Z4RGJYUIYU
— tessa (@TessaOhhh) January 16, 2017
Even iceburgh loves the deadguins shirts #rmnb #LetsGoCaps pic.twitter.com/nUZfha5dfG
— Christina Clarke (@ceclarke14) January 16, 2017
Want a shirt yourself? You can buy one in the RMNB merch store here.
Headline photo: RDS Images