Nov. 1 vs. Minnesota Wild at Capital One Arena
Time: 3:30 p.m.
TV: MNMT
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Capitals Radio Network
Minnesota Wild (9-3-3)
Washington Capitals (8-4-0)
Washington opens a three-game homestand and kicks off its dozen-game November slate on Sunday afternoon when it hosts the Minnesota Wild. For the first time this season, the Caps will carry a three-game winning streak into the contest.
The Caps head into Sunday’s homestand opener on the heels of sweeping a set of midweek back-to-back games. First, they defeated the Philadelphia Flyers on home ice by a 5-2 count on Wednesday night in the finale of a five-game homestand. A night later in Nashville – in their only road game across a remarkable span of 27 days – the Caps prevailed over the Predators by a 4-3 count, thanks to a pair of goals from rookie defenseman Cole Hutson, who authored the first multi-goal game of his career.
“He made two big plays in key moments where we’re trying to find our game early in the first period,” said Caps coach Spencer Carbery of Hutson, after Thursday’s game. “[The Predators] had a bunch of momentum, we’re down 1-0, and I think what he did was he just calmed us down a little bit.”
With seven points – four goals and three assists – on the season, Hutson leads all rookie defensemen in scoring, and the 20-year-old ranks sixth among all rookie at all positions. Since the day – March 18 of this year – Hutson debuted in the NHL, his total of 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) ranks 21st among all NHL blueliners. All 20 of the defensemen ahead of Hutson on that list – including teammate Jakob Chychrun – have averaged at least 21:52 per game in ice time this season, more than three and half minutes more than Hutson’s average (18:12) across his brief 26-game career.
Last season, Hutson exceeded the 20-minute mark once in 14 games, in a loss at St. Louis. This season, he has had four such games among his first dozen.
“Unbelievable, what a game he had tonight and throughout the whole season,” exclaimed Hutson’s teammate Boone Jenner in the wake of Washington’s win in Nashville. “The plays he makes and how skilled he is, you know that when he gets the puck on his stick, he can rip one like he did tonight – or twice tonight – and change the game just like that. [He’s] a very dynamic, shifty player with a ton of skill, and he’s been playing great. Not only that, but he’s been very physical and competing very hard, so on both sides of the puck he’s been great for us.”
In the two games in which Hutson has been paired with Jack St. Ivany, the duo has been on the ice for four goals scored and none against in just 26:33 on the ice together. Hutson hails from the Midwest and St. Ivany grew up in California, but they share a common – if thorny – collegiate background in the great city of Boston.
Hutson joined the Capitals from the campus of Boston University in March, and St. Ivany graduated from Boston College in 2022, after doing his work as an underclassman at Yale.
The newly cobbled pairing has excelled at both ends, getting quick stops in the defensive zone followed by effective exits. And on the other side of the opposing blueline, they’ve been dynamic. Since joining the team off waivers from Winnipeg last weekend, St. Ivany has earned assists on all four goals he’s been on the ice for, becoming the first player in franchise history to rack up multi-assist games in each of his first two games with the team.
“He’s awesome,” said Hutson of St. Ivany in the aftermath of Thursday’s win. “He’s got a high hockey IQ, so it works well for sure.”
“He definitely makes it easy for me,” says St. Ivany of his blueline partner. “He’s a tremendous skater and tremendous with the puck. I think for me, it’s just get him the puck and let him do the playmaking, and to be there as a safety valve to cover for him if anything happens. But as you saw last game, he is an all-world player. It’s a tremendous opportunity for me to be able to play with him.”
After returning from Nashville, the Caps took Friday off before reconvening at MedStar Capitals Iceplex for a Saturday morning practice session to prepare for Sunday’s matinee against Minnesota. Saturday’s session included a Rasmus Sandin sighting; the defenseman joined his teammates for a few early drills, albeit in a light blue non-contact sweater. Sandin continues to rehab after undergoing offseason knee surgery.
“That was a pleasant surprise, coming in and seeing that, and [head athletic trainer Jason Serbus] saying he was going to come on the ice and do skills and take part in the first few flow drills of practice,” says Carbery. “So, nothing [to report] timeline wise, but a really positive step.”
The Caps and Wild are living opposite lifestyles these days; while Washington played just a dozen games in October and plays 11 of its first 15 games of the season on home ice, the Wild played 15 October contests and will play 12 of its first 17 games on the road this season.
The road heavy early season slate hasn’t bothered the Wild in the least; Minnesota has roared out to a 9-3-3 start despite playing consecutive home games just once thus far this season. The Wild managed a respectable 5-3-2 mark in its 10 October road games, which included an early season three-game journey to Buffalo, Tampa and Florida, respectively. In late October, the Wild went 3-1-1 in grueling five-game trip out west in a span of eight nights.
After winning the last three games of its western trip, the Wild made a quick stop home to host the Islanders on Thursday, a game in which it fell 4-3 in overtime. It was Minnesota’s lone home game in a span of 18 nights.
“It’s going to be a good test,” says Carbery of Sunday’s game. “These are the games where you look out west, whether you’re talking about Edmonton, Colorado, Minnesota, Dallas; they’re teams that have been right on the door. They’re knocking and they’re right in that mix to try to make a run to be a Stanley Cup champion. And they’ve gone on some runs; they’ve played playoff series. So, it’s good. We’re excited to play a strong western team [Sunday].”
Sunday’s game starts a quick two-game road run for the Wild, which will finish its trip on Tuesday in Philadelphia.
By the end of November, the Wild will have played 29 games to just 24 for Washington.
