Dec. 13 vs. Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre
Time: 7:00 p.m.
TV: MNMT
Radio: 106.7 THE FAN/Caps Radio Network
Washington Capitals (18-9-4)
Winnipeg Jets (14-15-1)
The Caps take to the road this weekend, heading to the frozen north and the frozen Midwest for a pair of games against Western Conference/Central Division foes. First up is a Saturday night date with the Jets in Winnipeg, where the Caps will conclude their season series with the Jets. Washington prevailed in the first meeting between the two teams this season, taking a 4-3 decision in the District on Nov. 26.
As it heads out on this two-game trip, Washington has picked up at least a point in 13 of its last 14 games (10-1-3), and it has points in each of its last five road games (4-0-1).
In the finale of a brief two-game homestand Thursday night against Carolina, the Caps lost hold of a slim 2-1 lead late in the third period, and they had to settle for a single point in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Hurricanes. Despite a sluggish first 40 minutes in which Carolina pressed and pressured them in their own end, the Caps and Logan Thompson (37 saves) defended well enough to enter the third period all even at 1-1.
Nic Dowd dropped the mitts and fought Carolina winger Jordan Martinook at the opening face-off of the third period; the latter was miffed at an unpenalized hit Dowd made on Canes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere late in the second period; Dowd (five hits) and linemates Anthony Beauvillier (five) and Ethen Frank (two) combined for more than half (12 of 21) of Washington’s hit total on the night.
Dowd’s fight sparked the Caps, who picked up their level of play significantly in the third period. And on his second shift after exiting the penalty box following the fighting major, Dowd snapped that 1-1 tie with his second goal of the season, putting the Caps back on top.
That forward combination was cobbled together for the previous game against Columbus, and they showed well that night, too. Prior to the Columbus game, the three players had logged less than five minutes together on the ice all season.
“When Beau plays with [Dylan Strome] and [Alex Ovechkin], he’s great,” says Caps coach Spencer Carbery of the thinking behind the construction of that unit. “He's great and he adds an element to that line that I think helps them at times. But the best quality of Beau is he can play anywhere in your lineup. But also where I think he's at his best is when he's with two other guys that are very like-minded, that are playing north, that play with a ton of pace, that are very predictable. And doesn't mean he can't play and be successful with Stromer and O; he can, and he has shown that. But I think on that line, just giving him an opportunity to play with two guys that play exactly that: predictable, north, south – Frankie and Dowder.”
In Sunday’s 2-0 win over Columbus, Frank logged 17:10, the most ice time he has had in his 44 career NHL games. The fit between the three players has been strong, and while Frank and Dowd have played a fair amount together over the last year, they’ve worked quite well with Beauvillier in the small sample size of two games.
“Dowder communicates a lot with both of us,” says Frank. “And Beau has the experience and the IQ to feed off whoever it may be. I think he’s a great offensive talent and at getting pucks out of the [defensive] zone; he’s great at protecting the puck and making that first pass to get out. And Dowd, you can probably hear him in the stands yelling and talking to us on the ice, and whether we have time, or chip, or a pass to the middle, or whatever it may be. I just think their experience is great, and it’s easy to read off.”
Dowd played his first game as a Capital back in 2018, while both Frank and Beauvillier did so in calendar 2025.
“I like to think that I'm playing with two individuals that are veteran players,” says Dowd. “I know Frankie hasn't played a ton of NHL games, but he's played a ton of hockey in American League games, and he's been a big-time player at that level. I think we're kind of starting to see some of that come out now; they put him on the power play, and I thought he looked really good in that situation.
“But Beau has been around for 700 plus games, so I think it's fortunate that the two guys that I'm playing with currently are guys that know their style of game, are predictable and consistent, and then I think I try and hang my hat on the exact same stuff.
“So, I would say that it makes it easy to play with players like that, because even though we haven’t played that many minutes together, when you jump in with each other, you already kind of have a feel of where each other are most of the time. When you play with a guy for the long term, maybe you know where he is 98 percent of the time, right? You play with these new some new players, it might be 90 [percent] or a little bit lower, but I think with time and chemistry, it comes.
“And then it’s like, ‘Okay, this guy likes to do that.’ Beau likes to hold on to pucks for a couple more seconds in the corner. Frankie is always going to put pucks down behind the net when he gets in trouble. And like, creating those advantages of time and space is what allows you to a get more [offensive] zone possession. But I think it creates more plays later in the shift and later in the game. Now, you have an extra step on the guy, because you know where the puck is going. I think that's what the chemistry is all about, is the anticipation of being able to get to a spot before anybody else knows it's supposed to be there. Playing with those two guys, I have the ability to try and do that.”
Winnipeg has been hobbled by the loss of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who has been sidelined for nearly a month now with a knee injury. Hellebuyck won his last start with the Jets, a 4-3 shootout win at Calgary on Nov. 15. With Eric Comrie between the pipes, Winnipeg won its next game, beating Columbus 5-2 on home ice. But the Jets have been unable to string together consecutive wins since.
Including the victory over the Blue Jackets, the Jets are 3-8-1 during Hellebuyck’s absence, and they’ve only held the opposition to two or fewer goals against in the four games in which they earned points over that span. Since Nov. 18, Comrie has played all but one game, starting 11 of 12, including both ends of a set of back-to-backs in the first week of December.
Across that span, only the Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin (596:18) has logged more minutes in the crease than Comrie (577:56) among all NHL netminders, and no goalie in the League has made more starts (11) than Comrie. And while the 30-year-old Comrie has seen action in 10 consecutive NHL seasons now, his total workload (817:52) this season has surpassed his total from six of his previous seasons already, and he is about six full games shy of matching the heaviest workload of his NHL career (1179:33), achieved last season.
Comrie made 31 saves on 35 shots in the 4-3 loss the Jets suffered in the District late last month.
Washington’s visit to Manitoba’s capital city is the third game of the Jets’ four-game homestand, and Winnipeg is seeking its first win of the homestand after falling to Dallas and Boston, respectively, in the first two games. The Jets have dropped three straight overall, and they are 7-7-0 on home ice thus far this season.
