The Washington Capitals return to home ice Tuesday night to host the Dallas Stars for their lone visit to Capital One Arena this season.
Washington will seek a bounce-back win after dropping their last game to another Central Division team, the Minnesota Wild. The Capitals have struggled against Western Conference opponents so far this season, losing three of their four cross-conference games.
“They’re one of the stingiest teams defensively,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said of Dallas. “They make you have to work. Their D are extremely good with their sticks. They close well. They take away time and space, so they make it really, really difficult not only to register a scoring chance, but also to register a shot, to gain possession in the offensive zone. So peel it back about three steps before you even get into a scoring situation.
“They do a real good job in those areas. It’s another good test for us, another one of the top teams in the West, another team that I think, when you look at Stanley Cup contenders and teams that are going to be around when things shake out. They’re one of the top teams in the Western Conference and therefore one of the top teams in the league.”
The Stars will be playing their first game since beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 on Halloween. They currently sit fourth in the ultra-competitive Central Division with an 8-5-1 record through 14 games.
News
Timothy Liljegren is good to go after missing practice
The Capitals will have their full complement of defensemen on the ice against the Stars. Swedish defender Timothy Liljegren missed practice for maintenance on Monday morning but will be in Washington’s lineup, likely paired again with Martin Fehervary.
After sending Dylan McIlrath to the AHL’s Hershey Bears, the Capitals are only carrying six defensemen on their active roster. However, Rasmus Sandin appears to be inching toward a return from ACL surgery, as he skated with his teammates again Tuesday morning.
Logan Thompson to start again for the Capitals
The Capitals currently have three goaltenders, Logan Thompson, Charlie Lindgren, and the recently acquired Remi Poirier, on their roster, but that is not changing their typical netminding setup for Tuesday’s game. Spencer Carbery named Thompson the starter and Lindgren the backup against Dallas, so Poirier, who practiced with his new team for the first time on Monday, will be the healthy scratch in net.
In his career against the Stars, Thompson is 1-3-1 with a 2.03 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage.
Stars unhappy with their recent performances
The Stars will come into DC after six straight home games, dropping two of their last three at American Airlines Center. Head coach Glen Gulutzan was not pleased with his team’s efforts on their long homestand and celebrated them getting out onto the road for two contests this week against the Capitals and Blue Jackets.
“I just think that we don’t squeeze as much on the road,” Gulutzan said pregame. “We still bring the defensive game; we don’t squeeze our sticks as much to create offense, and by defending, we get more offense. I think we’re more fluid on the road than we are at home.”
There does seem to be some truth to Gulutzan’s hypothesis, as last season the Stars ranked 15th at home in scoring with 3.24 goals per game and 6th on the road with 3.41 goals per game.
Projected lineup
Capitals lines
The Capitals are expected to somewhat shake up their forward group after the loss to the Wild, with Justin Sourdif and Ilya Protas switching lines.
Stars lines
According to team reporter Robert Tiffin, here is how the Stars are set to line up.
Fun factoids
- The Stars have won eight of their last nine games against the Capitals, outscoring them 26-16 during that span. Dallas has also won six of their last seven games played at Capital One Arena.
- Stars forward Roope Hintz enters Tuesday’s contest riding an eight-game point streak against the Capitals, recording 11 total points (7g, 4a) during that span. In 12 career games against Washington, Hintz has recorded 13 points (8g, 5a).
- With a win, Logan Thompson will pass Pat Riggin (67) for the eighth-most wins in franchise history.
Puck drop is set for 7 pm. Joe Beninati and Craig Laughlin will have the call for Monumental Sports Network.
