The Washington Capitals have not won a game in nine days. Granted, sure, they were on vacation for most of that time, but their last two outings have been pretty miserable too – the Caps were out-attempted 98 to 68 during 5-on-5. If the team is gonna fix what ails them today, they’ll have to do so against the hottest team in the conference, who I am astonished to learn is the Philadelphia Flyers.

The game starts at noon thirty. It airs on NBC proper, and I’ll be your host for game coverage.

Record	22-16-8	28-15-4
Shot Attempt %	49.9%	48.3%
PDO	101.1	102.1
Power Play	20.6%	19.2%
Penalty Kill	75.0%	79.4%

Projected Lines

We’ve got a shakeup. After two crummy games, Barry Trotz put the blender on pulse and here’s what we got:

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

Djoos – Carlson
Orlov – Niskanen
Orpik – Bowey

Holtby

Hershey’s Outdoor Classic

Our own Brendan Doyle was up in Hershey this weekend to cover the festivities. He had a touching story about NHL legend Ray Bourque’s debut in the chocolate and white, the best recollection of items at the alumni game, and reactions from the Bears-Phantoms game itself, which didn’t end great but will still be a great memory.

Please check those stories out, and give Brendan a follow on Twitter if you’re so inclined.

Storylines

• Jakub Vrana looks to be a healthy scratch. He has one assist and zero goals in his last ten games.
• It’s a travesty the way Jay Beagle is overused this season, and it’s hurting the Caps.
• After a slow start, Lars Eller is really producing now.
• The Stadium Series unis should have looked like this. If you’re going today, you can get the real thing at the game or online at NHL.com.
• Braden Holtby’s new commercial is aces.
• I think we’ll see more William Cody action today. That’s a lovely story.

Overwatch League

I’m truly fascinated by the new Overwatch League and esports in general. It’s been hard to make first-person shooters fun to watch competitively (with the exception of CS:GO), but I think Overwatch has done it. The game itself feels like it was tailor-made for this – it’s fast-moving with bright colors and no blood. The players are so good they’re indistinguishable from wizards.

I’m rooting for LA Valiant (whose PR is run by former Puck Daddy contributor Jen Neale), New York Excelsior (who will be unbeatable once the legendary damage-per-second player Flow3r hits age 18), and the Seoul Dynasty (who are peerlessly good without any of the bravado that you’d expect in sports).

Seeing how the league is such a massive success, I’m a little disappointed that Team Liquid (MSE’s own esports team) isn’t involved.

BTW, my battletag is chirpchirp#11549, and I main Moira and Junkrat.

Full RMNB Coverage of Caps vs Flyers

Headline image: Cara Bahniuk