Don’t Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes – The Caps take on the Dallas stars tonight at Capital One Arena in the middle match of their three-game homestand. The Stars hit town as the NHL’s stingiest defensive outfit (2.14 goals against per game), its top penalty killing unit (93.6 percent), its top face-off team (55.6 percent) and its best team at shot suppression (22.3 per game).
Throw in the fact that the Caps have won just one of every four games against Dallas since the franchise moved from North Star territory to the Lone Star State more than three decades ago, and Washington figures to have its hands full tonight as it aims to bounce back from a relatively rare home ice loss on Sunday to Minnesota. The Caps are 17-4-2 on home ice since Jan. 31 of this year.
“You hit the nail on the head with the three teams that we're playing this week,” says Caps center Dylan Strome. “Obviously, we got a taste of that on Sunday against Minnesota with the way they played and how tight they played. I expect tonight will be a little bit better with getting to the net and creating some more chances, but we had our looks last game, just couldn't follow through. I think we'll be ready, have a better start tonight, and be ready for a really good team in Dallas.
“They're a really good defensive team. They don't give up a ton, and we haven't had a ton of success against them in my time with Washington. So hopefully, we can find a way to get past [goaltender Jake] Oettinger a couple times tonight. And obviously, he's an elite goaltender; we saw that last game with [Minnesota goalie Jesper] Wallstedt [Sunday], and we'll see it tonight again.”
Find A Way – The Caps’ current three-game homestand has delivered a trio of defensively strong and defensive minded teams, challenging a Washington team that had been feeling its offensive oats heading into Sunday’s game against Minnesota, a 5-1 loss.
The Caps had managed 10 goals at 5-on-5 in their previous three games, and they’ve also seen an uptick in the number of shots they’re putting on opposing goaltenders of late. After averaging 26.1 shots on net per contest across their first eight games of the season, the Caps have upped that mark to 30.4 shots per game over their last five games (h/t Carter Myers).
“I think for us, there'll be a few things,” says Caps coach Spencer Carbery. “Jake Oettinger by some analytics, he's top of the League, in goals saved above expected. I think his goals against is around one, one and a half or something close to that [it’s 1.63, and his save pct. is around] .920 [it’s .921]. So, he's going to be someone that we're going to have to make sure that we're doing a good job on.
“And just overall, in general, they're one of the stingiest teams defensively. So, they make you have to work, their [defensemen] 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, to register a shot, to gain a 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, so 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, whether the Central Division or whatever you want to say, they're one of the top teams in the Western Conference, and therefore one of the top teams in the League.”
So, the Caps will need to try to keep maintain their recent shot volume, get bodies to the net, be first to rebounds and loose pucks around the paint, and get their shots on net. Great goaltenders like Oettinger have a way of making shooters miss the mark.
“Obviously, everyone's trying to bear down when you get your Grade A looks,” says Caps forward Boone Jenner. “But for us, it's more when he's seeing the puck, he's playing well, and he's going to stop it. So it's more so getting in his eyes and making his life challenging. A lot of times, to beat him, you're getting a dirty one. It's a shot with a screen, and then maybe a rebound, and you're finding that loose puck, or getting it back and shooting again.
“Obviously, he's a great goalie, and if he sees it like [Sunday’s goalie] he's going to make some big saves. We got a couple looks, but we wanted to make it a little more challenging, I guess, just for traffic.”
As for those shots that miss the mark, Ryan Leonard has some strong advice.
“Go to the net, shorten the distance, and just simplify,” he says.
Of course, the Caps will need to mind their own end of the ice with fervor as well.
“Every team is obviously different in this league, but my mindset is you’ve got to give your A game every night and give yourself the best chance to win and make the right play over and over again, not the fun play or not the attractive play, just the right play,” says Caps center Pierre-Luc Dubois. “If we – as a team – make the right play over and over in a game, over 20 minutes per period, over three periods a night, over 84 games, then we'll come out with a lot more wins than losses.
“And [Tuesday] is going to be another good team that we play against, one with a really good defense. I think they're second best in the league defensively, but it's just about making the right play. Sometimes it's a shot with two guys in front, and you get a rebound. Sometimes it's a nice two-on-one where you pick your corner.
“But it’s just about doing it over and over again and again, especially against those top teams because they're just waiting for you to try something fun or different. A turnover goes the other way, and they score, and then you're out of the game. For us, it's just staying patient, staying with it, getting our chances, staying good defensively too, and hopefully you get the win like that.”
Strome has four career goals against Oettinger, the most of any Washington skater. Relatively recent additions Jenner, Jordan Kyrou and Anthony Beauvillier have three each, and the Alexes – Ovechkin and Tuch – each have a pair of goals in six games against the Dallas netminder, Ovechkin on 24 shots and Tuch on just 10.
In The Nets – Logan Thompson is the starter in goal for the Caps tonight. He has won five of his nine starts this season and has yielded two or fewer goals against in four of his nine starting assignments.
Lifetime against the Stars, Thompson is 1-3-1 in five appearances – all starts – but he has extremely strong qualitative numbers, a 2.03 GAA and a .928 save pct.
Oettinger gets the start for Dallas tonight. Still only 27, the big Boston University netminder is already knocking at the door of 200 career NHL victories; he enters tonight’s game just nine wins shy of that milestone. Oettinger has saved 9.8 goals above expected this season, second in the NHL only to Minnesota’s Jesper Wallstedt (11.0), who defeated the Caps here on Sunday in the homestand opener.
Lifetime against Washington, Oettinger is a perfect 6-0-0 in seven appearances, with a pair of shutouts – both in Dallas – a 1.25 GAA and a .958 save pct. Oettinger has yielded two or fewer goals against in five of his six career starts against the Capitals.
All Down The Line – Here’s how the Caps and Stars might look on Tuesday night in DC:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
89-Tuch, 17-Strome, 25-Kyrou
21-A. Protas, 80-Dubois, 43-Wilson
8-Ovechkin, 62-I. Protas, 72-Beauvillier
22-Jenner, 34-Sourdif, 9-Leonard
Defense
6-Chychrun, 3-Roy
42-Fehervary, 27-Liljegren
44-Hutson, 29-St. Ivany
Goaltenders
48-Thompson
79-Lindgren
Injured/Out
38-Sandin (lower body)
73-Desharnais (appendectomy)
Healthy Extras
1-Poirier
53-Frank
63-Miroshnichenko
DALLAS
Forwards
18-Steel, 53-Johnston, 96-Rantanen
21-Robertson, 24-Hintz, 91-Seguin
16-Perron, 25-Hyry, 14-Benn
22-Kiviranta, 49-Hryckowian, 15-Blackwell
Defense
23-Lindell, 4-Heiskanen
55-Harley, 5-Lundkvist
6-Bichsel, 57-Myers
Goaltenders
29-Oettinger
1-DeSmith
Injured/out
10-Back (finger)
12-Faksa (upper body)
20-Capobianco (leg)
95-Duchene (abdomen)
Healthy Extras
27-Taylor
