Tonight the Centennial Classic-winning Toronto Maple Leafs travel to Washington to take on the Presidents Trophy-winning Washington Capitals. The Maple Leafs have been on a bit of a hot streak, with five wins in-a-row after Sunday and they will hope to continue that after tonight. For the Capitals, not only will they be playing for their third win in-a-row, but hopefully the chance to pass some serious milestones for two key players. Nick Backstrom needs two more assists to reach a total of 500 in his career. Alex Ovechkin is six points away from career point number 1,000.
7:00pm game time on CSN, kiddos.
| Team | Record | Possession | PDO | Power Play | Penalty Kill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 17-12-7 | 51.1% | 100.5 | 19.6% | 85.2% |
| Washington Capitals | 22-9-5 | 53.4% | 101.6 | 16.7% | 87.3% |
Projected Lines
SOUND THE CHORN HORN, HE’S BACK.
Ovechkin – Backstrom– Oshie
Johansson – Kuznetsov – Williams
Connolly – Eller – Burakovsky
Winnik – Beagle – Wilson
Alzner – Carlson
Orlov – Niskanen
Orpik – Chorney
Holtby
Let’s Talk about Auston Matthews
First, here’s your reminder that ref cam is best cam. This is Auston’s OT winning goal from this weekend.
The ref cam of Auston Matthews’ goal is incredible. Absolute rip. His 19th of the season. pic.twitter.com/oaDnHH3PG6
— Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) January 1, 2017
Auston Matthews is the Leafs MVP this season, and he might already be among the league’s best centres too. https://t.co/V74TcJU5LL pic.twitter.com/d51QVoewWI
— dom (@omgitsdomi) January 2, 2017
Storylines
- The Capitals got a new badge for their uniforms honoring those 100 glorious years of NHL hockey.
- There is only one vital object you need for a ceremonial faceoff. It’s the puck and someone forgot to deliver that during the Winter Classic.
- Caps prospect Ilya Samsonov delivered a SECOND shutout to lead Russia to the WJC semi-finals.
- Our most-read posts of 2016 have been compiled for your enjoyment! Spoiler alert: they’re all amazing.
- Introduce yourself! We want to get to know you!
- Auston Matthews is named the NHL’s ‘Rookie of the Month’. Rightfully so.
- Should Taylor Chorney ever be chosen over Nate Schmidt? On purpose?
Canadian Night
Tonight at the Verizon Center, Canadian Heritage Night is taking place. Other than hockey-related people and things, what are the greatest treasures Canada has given to us? Let’s discuss.
- Trailer Park Boys– A great television program.
- Lorne Michaels- Hot Rod is weirdly one of my favorite movies.
- Maple Syrup- It’s the only food I appreciate from Canada. Canadian bacon? Trash. Poutine? Seems ridiculous. Split pea soup? Why.
- Neil Young- I don’t care that people hate Neil Young, I like him and this is my list.
- This vine:
5. an EXTREMELY Canadian vine https://t.co/x7UxGCOt0T
— elyse (@ElyseBee) October 27, 2016