The Washington Capitals will continue their long homestand Tuesday night with a matchup against the Los Angeles Kings at Capital One Arena.
After consecutive victories over the Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils, the Capitals have a chance to put together their first three-game winning streak of the 2026-27 campaign. To do so, they’ll need to beat the Kings, the NHL’s last winless team this year.
“You just know that they’re desperate going into the game,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said Monday. “You’re going to have a team that is putting absolutely everything that they possibly can put into a game to try to get two points. They’re going to be hungry. I don’t really put too much into it, but you know that they’re a team searching for two points and that they’re going to be desperate; that’s for sure.”
Los Angeles, 0-4-2 to start the season, are led by former Capitals bench boss Peter Laviolette, who has already installed a very familiar defensive system.
“The 1-3-1, we’ll get a heavy dose of that,” Carbery said.
Given their record, the Kings’ early results under Laviolette are obviously poor: they’ve scored just 12 goals in their first six games, including only one in each of their past four. They are also giving up the third-most goals per game in the NHL (4.17).
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Capitals injury updates
The Capitals will again be without two of their centers, as Pierre-Luc Dubois and Justin Sourdif continue to recover from their respective illnesses. Dubois skated again on Tuesday morning, but still in a light blue no-contact jersey, while Sourdif has yet to return to the rink.
With both still on the shelf, the Capitals will keep Boone Jenner and Jonny Brodzinski down the middle. Brodzinski began his NHL career with the Kings in 2016-17, playing 54 games over parts of three seasons with the club.
Matt Roy, who the Capitals have missed for six games with a lower-body injury, will return to the lineup against his former team. After being activated from injured reserve ahead of the game, Roy will presumably return to the team’s top pairing alongside his usual partner, Jakob Chychrun.
“He’s a big part of our team,” Carbery said. “Plays in a lot of different situations. Logs a lot of minutes. Good leader for our team, so it will be good to get him back.”
Capitals have warm memories of Laviolette, says Wilson
Laviolette will return to DC with his second team after his 2020-2023 stint with the Capitals. He previously returned with the New York Rangers before the team fired him at the end of the 2024-25 campaign. Despite his tenure with the Caps ending on a sour note, leading the club to its worst full season in 16 years, alternate captain Tom Wilson says he still has fond memories of Laviolette’s time with the team.
“Yeah, he was a lot of fun to have around,” Wilson said. “He was an experienced coach. I think everyone here learned a lot from him. He’s got experience in this league that obviously is hard to come by. He’s been around a long time. I just remember we had a lot of fun. He always had different things going on, different events, different little things around the room to keep it light.
“He has a great family. Him and his wife treated all our families very, very well. She was a lot of fun to have around as well. Obviously, his kid was playing hockey at the time, and great kids. Just a family guy that I think would do a lot for his players, whatever guys needed. And obviously it was kind of weird with COVID at the beginning and stuff. It was a weird transitionary period, but I had a lot of fun playing for him.”
Kings see return of veteran forward
The Capitals aren’t the only ones getting a key player back, as the Kings will see the return of veteran winger Mats Zuccarello from injury. The Norwegian winger, who has recorded at least 54 points in each of his last five NHL seasons, is back after missing three games with an undisclosed injury.
In recent practices, Zuccarello has been skating on a line with Quinton Byfield and Trevor Moore.
“I think it helps slot things a little bit,” Laviolette told NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. “But that being said, I think we’ll just watch his minutes and where he goes. He’s been out for a bit for us. But definitely a guy that can come in and help with regard to the offensive part of the game.”
Projected lineup
Capitals lines
With Roy back in the fold and Dubois and Sourdif still out, here’s how the Capitals should look.
Kings lines
The Kings’ projected lines come via team reporter Zach Dooley.
Fun factoids
- The Capitals have not lost on home ice to the Kings since December 19, 2021. In that game, a 3-2 defeat, the Caps got goals from Connor McMichael and Justin Schultz. Matt Roy, then with the Kings, provided the primary assist on LA’s game-tying and game-winning goals.
- Former Capitals number-one netminder Darcy Kuemper will start in net for the Kings. In seven career games against Washington, Kuemper is 2-5-0 with a 2.34 goals-against average, a .921 save percentage, and one shutout.
- The Capitals swept their season series against the Kings last season, with captain Alex Ovechkin leading the team in scoring with three points (1g, 2a) in the two games. In his career against the Kings, Ovechkin has 26 points (13g, 13a) in 30 games.
Puck drop is set for 7 pm. Joe Beninati and Craig Laughlin will have the call on Monumental Sports Network.
