Here's everything to know before the Capitals take on the Kings.
Just a week ago, it seemed that the Washington Capitals finally figured things out and translated those lessons into a five-game winning streak. Now, they’re in the midst of a two-game slide, and they face a big challenge to get back on track against the high-flying Los Angeles Kings.
It also marks the first game of a back-to-back series to close out a tour of California.
Here’s everything to know before puck drop at 10:30 p.m. ET at Crypto.com Arena.
Washington Capitals Lines
Amid the team’s scoring woes, Carbery is implementing more change up front. Nicolas Aube-Kubel will draw back in after spending last game as a healthy scratch, while Hendrix Lapierre will sit.
The defensive pairings are also subject to change as Carbery gets used to having all six of his regular blueliners fully healthy and back in the mix. The only surefire pairing is Martin Fehervary and John Carlson up front.
Charlie Lindgren will get the start between the pipes.
Here are the line combinations:
Alex Ovechkin-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Tom Wilson
Sonny Milano-Dylan Strome-Matthew Phillips
Aliaksei Protas-Connor McMichael-Anthony Mantha
Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Martin Fehervary-John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Joel Edmundson-Nick Jensen
Washington Capitals Keys To The Game
The Capitals desperately need to score goals right now — and the problem's not just on the power play. Washington's 5-on-5 offense can't seem to get much going, and there's a need for more creativity and chaos in front of the netminder.
Then, there are special teams; the power play, despite doing some good things on Monday, is now 0-for-31 over the last 11 games and has converted on just five percent of its opportunities this season, which ranks last. The penalty kill, despite a strong run earlier in the month, has given up a power-play goal in three straight games.
"We're trying to work with our guys on how do we create more and if we’re able to create more, good, but how do we mkek good on the quality chances that we’re creating, and how do we take advantage? It's not an easy answer; it’s really, really difficult to score in this league. It’s why players get paid a lot of money to score goals," Carbery said. "For whatever reason, I know I’ve talked about this at the beginning of the year, our guys throughout our lineup have been really, really snakebitten. Other than Stromer, there’s no one really that’s clipping at a real high level, from a production standpoint and a finishing standpoint, which makes it difficult. It's just tough to win when you’re not scoring.”
This won't be easy against the Kings, though, who rank last in goals-against per game (2.37) and are the sixth-best team in the league.
Defense and good goaltending is also key. Los Angeles leads the league with four goals per game on average, so seeing Lindgren get the call says a lot about the direction Carbery could be taking in net.
Washington Capitals Players To Watch
- Evgeny Kuznetsov had the lone goal for Washington last game and has three points in his last five games.
- Matthew Phillips will get another game to show what he can do. Look for Aube-Kubel to try and make an impact in his return to the lineup, too.
- Trevor van Riemsdyk has assists in three of his last four games.