#CapsStars Skate Shavings: On The Road Again

It's been more than a month since the Caps went out on an actual road trip, with "actual road trip" being defined as a journey in which more than one road game is played. With 19 one-game road trips on its slate this season, Washington has precious few actual road trips this season, and after this one is completed, the Caps won't go on another one until mid-February.

Starting with a day trip to New York immediately after the NHL's holiday break to face the Rangers on Dec. 27, the Caps will have seven straight one-game trips until they finally go out on the road for four games from Feb. 13-19.

Having won 13 of their last 15 games to help catapult themselves into the top spot of the Metropolitan Division standings, the Caps now seek to improve their record away from Capital One Arena, where they will play their next four games.

"We're going to face different challenges throughout the year," says Caps defenseman Matt Niskanen, "with the different skills sets of the different teams you're playing. And with the circumstances of the schedule and injuries and whatever, we might have different challenges.

"I think we've done a good job over this last little stretch of keeping our eyes on the prize, and not letting any outside factors affect us too much. We just played the games and played to win, and we got good results because of it. We really took care of business on home ice, which is important because at some point here we are going to catch up with the road games."

The Caps are 7-7-1 on the road this season, but they've lost four of their last six contests away from the District.
Andre Burakovsky | December 19](https://www.nhl.com/video/c-55865203)All Present And Accounted For -For just the second time in 35 games this season, and for the first time since Oct. 13, the Caps will be able to ice their optimal lineup for Tuesday's game against the Stars in Dallas.

With Tom Wilson back from a four-game NHL suspension, the Caps entered their Oct. 13 game with the Devils in New Jersey at peak health and with ostensibly their best lineup on the ice. But in the first period of that game, blueliner Matt Niskanen went down with an upper body injury that would sideline him for 13 games.

Niskanen's injury kicked off a spate of ailments up and down the roster, and Washington has dealt with them all, all while managing to embark on this week's road trip with sole possession of the top spot in the ultra-competitive Metropolitan Division standings.

With T.J. Oshie set to return to action after a six-game absence, the Caps once again have a clean slate in terms of injury and illness. And they not only survived without Oshie and others over the last couple of months, they thrived.

"I think it shows resiliency that we haven't necessarily had to show in the last couple of years, when it comes to injuries and guys stepping in," says Oshie of the Caps' team performance while dealing with those injuries. "We've had injuries and we've had guys step in, but I feel like we haven't had it as much as we've had this season.

"I think it's been great. There are a lot of guys who have really stepped up into roles that I think everyone had hoped that they could step into."

Washington had the fewest man-games lost to injury in the league over the last two seasons, so dealing with multiple players on the sidelines simultaneously is something they haven't had to deal with frequently over the last few seasons.

"It means relief," says Caps coach Barry Trotz. "It means that we've got a little depth. We're playing with house money a little bit. To me, what it really does is it puts pressure on the group. There is one guy who is trying to get back into the lineup every night. I think it's a positive thing. You want to push each other, you want to be consistent, you want to be good next to the guy you're sitting on the bench next to and playing with on the ice."

For Trotz, it also means a difficult decision. Devante Smith-Pelly has played in each of Washington's first 34 games this season, and he has played well. He has moved up and down the lineup, has played both wings, has killed penalties, has blocked shots fearlessly, and has chipped in a reasonable amount of offense for a bottom six forward. With Oshie returning, Smith-Pelly becomes the odd man out, at least for this night in Dallas.

It had to be difficult for Trotz to take Smith-Pelly out of the Caps' lineup.

"Yeah, it was," admits Trotz. "I told him, 'There are certain things that I have to do in terms of roles that we have on our team, and there are certain guys I need for certain situations. And also, there are certain guys that I need to find their game a little bit, so you're out tonight.'

"I didn't tell him he was playing poorly. Obviously, we can all play better. As coaches, we want them to play better. I just said, 'It's a coach's decision, nothing on you. Just be ready to go. You'll get another opportunity to get back in, and when you do, just be really good.'"

That Washington was able to navigate some choppy waters in terms of scheduling, injuries and the integration of several new and younger players into its mix while staying more than afloat in the standings shows well on the team and the staff as a whole. Now, the Caps are pumped up to see what they've got, and where they can go.

"I'm excited," says Oshie. "I'm excited to see what we can put out there when we have the whole group clicking. It feels like that identity that we talked about at the beginning of the year where we were playing the right way and then the wrong way, and we were so up and down at the beginning of the year. I feel like the guys are starting to figure it out, and I imagine it will only get better once we have the full lineup in."

Tough Town - The Dallas Stars were originally known as the Minnesota North Stars, one of six expansion teams that began play in 1967-68 when the NHL doubled in size from The Original Six to The Original 12. The Stars moved south to Dallas for the start of the 1993-94 season, and winning in Big D has proven to be problematic for the Caps over the last quarter of a century.

Although the Caps won on overtime decision here back in January on their last visit to Dallas, that is one of only four victories they've achieved here since the Stars moved south from Minnesota. Three of those victories came in overtime, and Washington's only regulation win ever in Dallas came more than two decades ago, on Oct. 17, 1995.

In The Nets - Braden Holtby made his NHL debut with Washington more than seven years ago. Over that time span, He has rolled up a total of 210 regular season victories. Holtby has yet to defeat the Vegas Golden Knights, because he has yet to face the NHL's newest expansion team. And he has yet to defeat the Capitals, because he has never played against them.

Holtby has earned victories over 28 different NHL teams over the course of his career in the league, but he has yet to defeat the Dallas Stars. He'll get another chance to do so on Tuesday night at American Airlines Center. In five career appearances against the Stars, Holtby is 0-4-0 with a 4.37 GAA and an .837 save pct. Maybe facing the Stars in the month of December will do the trick; Holtby is 29-8-8 with five shutouts, a 2.26 GAA and a .927 save pct. in 47 career contests in the final calendar month of the year.

Holtby will be seeking his 20th victory of the season on Tuesday in Dallas, as he continues his quest to become the first goaltender in NHL history to reel off four straight seasons with 40 or more victories. With his next win, Holtby will be halfway toward that achievement.

Ben Bishop gets the net for Dallas tonight. In his first season with the Stars, his fifth NHL home, Bishop is 13-9-1 with a couple of shutouts, a 2.71 GAA and a .910 save pct. He has been excellent on home ice for Dallas, going 9-3-0 in 13 appearances with a shutout, a 2.03 GAA and a .931 save pct.

Like Holtby, Bishop has scuffled mightily against his Tuesday night opponent. Lifetime against the Caps, Bishop is 2-6-1 in career appearances, with a 3.42 GAA and an .892 save pct.

All Lined Up -Here's how we expect the Caps to look when they take to the ice on Tuesday night against the Stars at American Airlines Center:

WASHINGTONForwards

8-Ovechkin, 19-Backstrom, 43-Wilson

13-Vrana, 92-Kuznetsov, 77-Oshie

65-Burakovsky, 20-Eller, 10-Connolly

18-Stephenson, 83-Beagle, 39-Chiasson

Defensemen

44-Orpik, 74-Carlson

9-Orlov, 2-Niskanen

29-Djoos, 22-Bowey

Goaltenders

70-Holtby

31-Grubauer

Scratches

4-Chorney

Injured

None

DALLASForwards

14-Benn, 91-Seguin, 17-Shore

13-Janmark, 90-Spezza, 47-Radulov

21-Roussell, 12-Faksa, 18-Pitlick

40-Elie, 10-Hanzal, 46-Smith

Defensemen

23-Lindell, 3-Klingberg

2-Hamhuis, 28-Pateryn

28-Johns, 6-Honka

Goaltenders

30-Bishop

32-Lehtonen

Scratches

25-Ritchie

Injuries

33-Methot (knee)