Caps Clash with Stars
Caps seek to get back on the winning track against another desperate opponent, the Dallas Stars
By
Mike Vogel
WashingtonCaps.com
Some 72 games into the 2017-18 NHL regular season, the difference between the Washington Capitals and the Dallas Stars is essentially two and a half wins spread over five and a half months. Yet the Capitals enter Tuesday's contest between the two teams as the leader in the Metropolitan Division while the Stars would miss the playoffs on the basis of a tiebreaker if the season were to end today.
Although the two teams reside on different sides of the NHL's conference barrier, the two points matter supremely to both clubs on Tuesday. Washington had its four-game winning streak snapped in a lackluster 6-3 loss to the Flyers in Philadelphia on Sunday, and the Caps' lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Metropolitan Division is down to two points with 10 games remaining for both clubs.
"We just need to raise our urgency," says Caps coach Barry Trotz. "I thought our urgency level against the Islanders was good [in sweeping a home-and-home set Thursday and Friday], and we got the results that we needed. [Sunday] night, we weren't as urgent - I didn't feel - and weren't as hard. I didn't think we were hard enough on Philly, on plays and in different areas of the game, and we ended up with the result we did."
The Stars are coming into town in the wake of Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Jets in Winnipeg, their sixth straight loss (0-4-2) on the road. Dallas has been limited to two or fewer goals scored in five of those last six road games.
"Obviously we sunk back a little bit [Sunday] night," says Caps goalie Braden Holtby, who is expected to get the start against Dallas. "But I thought before that we had been doing a lot of good things to move toward a playoff-style of hockey, and that's what we want to do.
"We're just trying to build every game. We're not trying to focus on the fact that we have to do this or we have to do that, we're just trying to play as best we can and see where it takes us come the next day. We're just trying to stay in the moment, keep things loose and play the right way."
The Caps played Sunday's game without center Evgeny Kuznetsov (upper body injury) and defenseman Brooks Orpik (lower body). For both players, it was the first game missed this season, and for Kuznetsov, it was the first game he missed since Dec. 4, 2014, ending a streak of 292 straight games played.
Both players are day-to-day, but both are doubtful for Tuesday's clash with the Stars.
Sunday's loss ended the Caps' winning streak at four, one shy of their longest of the season.
Well into the homestretch now and with three teams nipping at their heels - all of them in action on Tuesday night, too - the Caps know it's in their best interests to get another winning run started right away, even if it's a modest one. It's all about piling up the points until the playoff spot is clinched, but in the tight Metro standings, having home ice advantage might be an important edge to have. Having a division title means nothing, but having a Game 7 at home in the first or second round might.
Only two Metro teams - Philadelphia and New Jersey - have won as many as half of their road games this season. Along with Pittsburgh, the Caps are one of two Metro teams with as many as 25 home victories this season.
"You see flashes from our team," says Caps right wing Tom Wilson. "Two, three four games in a row that we're playing really well. I don't think we were really happy with our game [Sunday] night. But it's a tough league, it's a long season and it's tough to stay consistent. I think that's something that our organization has done since Barry came, is we've stayed consistent throughout the year and collect points, collect points.
"It's crunch time. We need to make sure that our game is where it's at. We're going to have to get our group together, the group that is going to be going, everyone knowing their role going forward here and doing their role to a tee because that's what's going to get us success."
Washington has amassed 25 or more wins at home for the third straight season, and the Caps will finish the regular season by playing four of their last six games at Capital One Arena. First though, they'll host the Stars on Tuesday and then they'll head out on a three-game road trip to face a trio of Original Six teams that won't be making the playoffs: Detroit, Montreal and the New York Rangers.
"It's going to be another desperate team," says Wilson of facing the Stars. "They've got a lot of firepower and it's another good test. We've got to bounce back. It's going to be nice to play at home and hopefully get the two points, and then take it on the road and continue the last little stretch here and get ready."
Dallas is tied with Los Angeles with 84 points for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, but the Stars have three fewer regulation/overtime wins than the Kings, the current occupant of that second wild card spot. For the Stars, Tuesday's game is the last stop on a six-game road trip that has yet to produce a victory (0-3-2). Dallas has won only two games this month (2-4-4), and it hasn't won consecutive games since starting February with a five-game winning streak.
After Tuesday's game, the Stars head back home for a three-game homestand, and they'll play four of their next five at American Airlines Center. Dallas finishes the 2017-18 regular season with a three-game California road trip, culminating in a set of back-to-backs on the final weekend of the season.
The Stars know they've got to pull some road points somewhere, and the big barn on F St. has been good to them over the years. Dallas has won six straight games over the Capitals in Washington, and the Caps are just 2-7-2 against the Stars since moving downtown from the Maryland suburbs just over two decades ago.
