Caps vs Canadiens pregame: We Vrana give Barry credit

January 19, 2018 4:04 pm

The Caps are right back in action tonight, taking on the Canadiens in DC. Montreal is in sixth place in the Atlantic division, has lost three in a row, and is 2-6-2 in their last 10 games. The Caps are looking to bounce back from a lackluster performance on Thursday night in New Jersey.

The good news is Andre Burakovsky will draw in. After Jakub Vrana was benched during the third period of Thursday night’s game, it was reasonable to think he’d be the healthy scratch tonight. But sanity prevailed and it appears Devante Smith-Pelly will be the odd-man out.

It’s a 7:30 PM game and NBCSW will have the coverage on your teevee. Christopher from the comments will have your recap.


Record	18-21-6	28-14-4
Shot Attempt %	51.1%	48.4%
PDO	98.6	102.3
Power Play	19.1%	18.9%
Penalty Kill	77.9%	79.5%

Projected Lines

There was no morning skate so it’s hard to say what the lines will look like given that Burakovsky will return and DSP is out. Will Andre take DSP’s spot? Will Connolly get a longer look with Kuzy after they clicked last night? Tough to say! There could be a bigger shakeup, but here’s what a few minor tweaks could look like:

Ovechkin – Backstrom – Burakovsky
Connolly – Kuznetsov – Wilson
Vrana – Eller – Oshie
Stephenson – Beagle – Chiasson

Djoos – Carlson
Orlov – Niskanen
Orpik – Bowey

~~Holtby~~ Grubauer

Vrana Facts

Thanks goodness Mr. Vrana is expected to play tonight. Despite a recent dip, he’s been quite good this season.

Jakub Vrana at 5v5 (rank among Caps forwards)
Goals-8 (4th)
Shots/60-9.2 (2nd)
Shot attempts/60-13.9 (4th)
Scoring chances/60-9.8 (2nd)

— Pat Holden (@pfholden) January 19, 2018

Storylines

Butt check alert.
Ovi and Kuzy are leading the way.
Is this what they mean when they say Brooks Orpik provides great leadership off the ice?
Burakovsky was sick but he’s not sick anymore.
Clutch Connolly strikes again.
The Caps are looking on the bright side after the loss to the Devils.
Speaking of the loss to the Devils, the numbers from that one ain’t pretty.
How do you think the Caps did last night?
The Bears are getting prepped for their outdoor game.
You can buy a spot on the Caps alumni game roster.

Triple H Performs Moana

From the “you don’t want to miss this” department

.@WWE‘s @TripleH and @StephMcMahon tag team their lip sync of “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana! #WWE #FallonTonight pic.twitter.com/Bh1gA22GI8

— Fallon Tonight (@FallonTonight) January 19, 2018