While you might be on your way home for the holidays, the Capitals have finally returned home too! The team is back at Capital One Arena, this evening, after their four-game road trip. They are hosting the Chicago Blackhawks who are kicking off their own road trip and are hoping to extend their point streak to five games. Corey Crawford is expected to be in goal for the Hawks and currently holds a 3-4-2 career record with a 3.54 goals-against average and .884 save percentage against the Capitals.
Amazing news, we are back to regular puck drop at 7 PM. Watch the game on NBCS Washington and if you are with family and need to sneak away…you can stream the coverage on all of your devices beginning with the pregame at 6 PM. Tonight’s recap? You have Julia! That’s right, it’s Julia’s first recap and you will definitely want to stick around for it.
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|---|---|---|
| Record | 8-8-5 | 10-7-3 |
| Shot Attempt % | 51.1% | 48.1% |
| PDO | 99.3 | 101.5 |
| Power Play | 14.1% | 29.7% |
| Penalty Kill | 74.6% | 73.3% |
Projected Lines
Braden Holtby will be starting in net, but Evgeny Kuznetsov and TJ Oshie remain out. Thanks to Izzy at the Washington Post we have the following lines:
Ovechkin – Backstrom – Wilson
Vrana – Eller – Connolly
Burakovsky – Boyd – DSP
Jaskin – Dowd – Stephenson
Kempny – Carlson
Orlov – Niskanen
Djoos – Bowey
Holtby
Barclay Blues
Barclay is the puppy for the St. Louis Blues and I feel like he’s been doing great. So, for all of you that might be stressed out with Thanksgiving or life in general, here are some highlights.
Happy Friday!
– Barclay 🐾 pic.twitter.com/VSgovukZGW— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) November 16, 2018
Bader meet Barclay.
Barclay meet Bader. pic.twitter.com/BoESa9CvNa
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) November 21, 2018
Also a great question:
can Barclay coach the blues?
— Salad Enthusiast (@inlovewthesalsa) November 20, 2018
Storylines
- There is a brand new RMNB podcast episode out! In this episode, Ian talked to the Caps’ emergency backup goaltender Gavin McHale. Spoiler alert, it’s a wonderful interview and I am already in love with him.
- Want to know more about Gavin McHale? He got some pretty great stuff from the Caps too!
- Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson, and Braden Holtby delivered laptops to some elementary school students. Seeing the photos of Nicklas Backstrom having an earnest conversation with small children is worth a quick view.
- The Caps Canine Calendar is finally out today! Remember those cute photos of puppies in the Stanley Cup? Yeah, THAT calendar. Plus, all the proceeds go to benefit Homeward Trails Animal Rescue. Everyone wins!
- Sure, the Capitals did come back and win a great game against the Montreal Canadiens. But, there was also some Braden Holtby twerking action that I didn’t really know I desperately needed until I saw it.
- Brooks Orpik recently had some successful knee surgery. It sucks that he’ll remain out, but it’s great to see that he is on the mend. I’ve had some thoughts on this.
- Since returning from his suspension, Tom Wilson has become a point-per-game player. How on god’s green earth has this happened?
- We’re twenty games in. Blog-wise, we’re looking great but, how are the Capitals looking in the grand scheme of everything?
Best Thanksgiving Food
I want to talk about the best Thanksgiving foods. I feel like we have definitely talked enough about the bad stuff, but it’s time to shine a light on the goodness. Here are my top three picks in no particular order.
Sweet potatoes/Mashed potatoes. I’ve come to the realization that a lot of you actually have one or the other and some of you have both of these. The potatoes are the best part whether you like them drenched in butter or topped with marshmallows.
The bread. I’m all about a bread basket, so it’s fairly obvious that I will go for any roll. It almost feels like a palate cleanser in between shoving your face with different sides.
Stuffing. I will fight anyone that hates stuffing.
No matter where you are for the holiday, please travel safe and eat plenty. Get that bread (literally).
Full RMNB Coverage of Caps vs Blackhawks
Headline image: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images North America
