Caps vs Avalanche pregame: Homestand continues

February 7, 2019 4:19 pm

Are the Capitals still playing at home? You betcha and tonight they host the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs are hoping to snap their four game losing streak. They have lost eight in their last 10 games… but then again so have the Capitals. Hopefully, the promotion of Andre Burakovsky to the third line can bring some magic? Maybe?

We have been so spoiled with these 7PM puck drop starts. Tune your telly to NBCS Washington for all the action. You can also stream the game live from your devices on the My Teams app. Chris from the comments will have your recap.


Record	22-22-8	29-18-6
Shot Attempt %	50.3%	48.7%
PDO	99.1	101.9
Power Play	24.2% (6th)	21.3% (12th)
Penalty Kill	76.1% (28th)	78.1% (24th)

Projected Lines

Peep Andre Burakovsky moving to the third line! Isabelle from the Washington Post hooked us up with the following lines from morning skate:

Ovechkin – Backstrom – Oshie
Vrana – Kuznetsov – Wilson
Burakovsky – Eller – Connolly
Stephenson – Boyd – DSP

Kempny – Carlson
Orlov – Niskanen
Orpik – Bowey

Copley

Hot Diggity Dog

When you’re in a rush to get to the rink, but need to grab a hot dog real quick. Don’t coach on an empty stomach, folks!

Mike Babcock in a serious rush with a hotdog in hand is a gift from the hockey gods on this Thursday. pic.twitter.com/zM5gZa1M8T

— Cahhrles (@SmokesIndoors) February 7, 2019

Storylines

Down in front! Tom Wilson blocked an entire interview during last game. He is the one playing the game, so I think maybe…..we should let him do….that….
Need some good feels before the game? Brennin continues her “Misc. you missed” series with a heartbreaker post, including Jay Beagle highlights 🙁
Alex Ovechkin‘s parents are so supportive, it makes me want to cry on a regular basis.
Gritty visited the Hill for “Hockey Day” and caught himself a Penguins fan. All the Gritty content from the day was….incredible.
The return of Grubi! Tonight marks Philipp Grubauer‘s first time back playing in DC since he went to the Avs.
How can the Capitals become a Stanley Cup contending team again? Peter thinks these five changes might do the trick.

The Wizards

A current running joke is that NHL fans and NBA fans hate each other. NHL fans think NBA players are wimps and NBA fans think NHL fans are stuck up. As a DC gal who played and coached basketball for 15 years (and destroyed my knee) and loves league drama, I have the opinion that the NBA is really good.

Anyway, if you feel the need to join on the NBA bandwagon and want a team…can I suggest anyone but the Wizards? Sure, they are a hometown team, but now is not a good time. They are tanking and have an incompetent general manager, Ernie Grunfeld. The Wizards just cleared cap space by dealing Otto Porter Jr. and Markieff Morris on the eve of the trade deadline. Don’t know what that means? Let Twitter tell you: