The Capitals are looking for their sixth straight win on Black Friday against the struggling Oilers. Here's everything to know before puck drop.
WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals are exactly where they hope to be at the Thanksgiving mark, and they look to keep trending in the right direction and to capture their sixth straight win against the struggling Edmonton Oilers.
Here's everything to know ahead of puck drop, including lines, injuries, keys to the game and more.
Washington Capitals Lines & Injury Report
The Capitals will be getting a key name back in the mix on Friday: Evgeny Kuznetsov.
Kuznetsov will make his return to the lineup after missing the last two games with an illness. The Russian will take Hendrix Lapierre's place on the forward lines; Lapierre had filled in the last two games for Kuznetsov, shining with two strong outings and three points.
In net, Charlie Lindgren will get the nod, making his fourth start in five games after backing up Darcy Kuemper on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Fehervary will miss his fifth straight game with a lower-body injury he sustained while defending the net front in a 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils back on Nov. 10. The Slovak blueliner upgraded to contact for the last two practices and is expected to return to the lineup on Monday against the San Jose Sharks.
Here are the lines:
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Tom Wilson
Sonny Milano-Evgeny Kuznetsov-T.J. Oshie
Aliaksei Protas-Connor McMichael-Anthony Mantha
Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Rasmus Sandin-John Carlson
Joel Edmundson-Nick Jensen
Alex Alexeyev-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Charlie Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper
Besides Fehervary, who remains on the injured reserve, Max Pacioretty and Nicklas Backstrom are the only two players still hurting and both are on LTIR. Pacioretty is still working his way back and ramping up to return from his second torn Achilles. Backstrom is unlikely to return for the season as he takes an indefinite leave of absence due to hip issues.
Washington Capitals Keys To Success
If there were a time when the Capitals could bust out of their power play woes, Friday would be perfect against a struggling Oilers group.
Washington's power play has gone 0-for-23 over the last nine games, and its PP percentage of 6.7 ranks dead last in the league. Edmonton is a team that the Capitals could take advantage of, as its penalty kill is the ninth-worst in the league (74.7 percent).
In turn, the penalty kill needs to stay sharp against Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard. Before surrendering a PPG against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday as part of an extended kill, Washington had killed off 24 straight penalties over the course of 11 games. The PK ranks 12th best overall at 83.3 percent, and since Nov. 1, it ranks second overall at 95 percent.
Washington Capitals Players To Watch
- Dylan Strome has points in back-to-back games and three points total over that span (one goal, two assists). He leads the Capitals with eight goals this season.
- John Carlson had two assists last game and leads the NHL in ice time per game with 26:31 minutes a night.
- Rasmus Sandin leads all NHL skaters in 5-on-5 ice time (20:40 minutes per game).
- Connor McMichael has points in three of his last four games.
- T.J. Oshie ended a 19-game goal drought with his first of the season on Wednesday.
Puck drop is at 3 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena.