Protection – For a good chunk of this season, a game like tonight’s against the Detroit Red Wings seemed to be a far-fetched possibility for the Capitals. They forged a decent enough first half, but when they wobbled coming out of the NHL’s annual holiday break, they wobbled hard. Washington won only five of 18 games from Dec. 27-Feb. 9 of this season, a prolonged slide that seemed to take them out of serious playoff contention.
On Feb. 10, the Caps woke up in 12th place in the Eastern Conference standings, seven points south of the last playoff slot in the standings, and with four teams to climb over to get there. After an unsightly 8-3 setback at the hands of the Red Wings in Detroit on Feb. 27, the hole was even deeper. The Caps woke up the next day looking up at a nine-point deficit between themselves and Detroit, occupants of the coveted second wild card spot.
But after winning five games in December (5-5-4), five games in January (5-7-1), and five games in February (5-4-2), the Caps have reeled off eight victories (8-4-0) in March with three games remaining on the slate this month. The Caps came into March like lions and they’re bent on going out the same way. The Caps’ strong March coupled with the Wings’ 3-9-0 record since the aforementioned Feb. 27 meeting has Washington in the second wild card slot, a point ahead of Detroit.
“Obviously, the last game against them didn’t go as planned,” says Caps’ center Dylan Strome. “We were playing okay going into it, but that game turned our little playoff push around, and obviously we knew that was unacceptable. We’ve played some really good hockey since then, found ways to get wins, and have played good all around.
“I think it’s more of the same from us tonight. I loved our third period against Winnipeg [on Sunday, the Caps’ most recent game], so just bring it into tonight. It’s a good test.”
Owning a game in hand on the Wings and with one more meeting still ahead – two weeks from tonight in Detroit – the Caps find themselves in an enviable position going into tonight’s game. They’ve essentially shaken off a few of the pursuers behind them in the standings, and tonight’s game affords them the opportunity of beginning to do the same with the Wings. A regulation win tonight would give Washington a three-point bulge over Detroit, with 11 games remaining, a game remaining against the Wings, and a game in hand on them as well.
“To play a huge game on home ice, against a good team that we’re fighting neck and neck with,” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery, “I think it’s just a great opportunity for us, to continue doing what we’ve been doing of late. It’s just stay in the moment and focus on playing at a high level and up to our standard tonight.”
The Caps have won two of three games on the homestand – including each of the last two – coming into tonight’s massive tilt. They’ll be playing with most – if not all – of their optimal lineup of late; winger Sonny Milano left Sunday’s game with Winnipeg – the 300th game of his NHL career – midway through the first period with an upper body injury. He took part in Tuesday’s morning skate, but also stayed out for late work with scratches.
That said, Milano has not yet been ruled out of tonight’s game.
“Today, we’ll see how it goes,” says Carbery. “I’m not going to rule him completely out yet, but we’ll see how the skate went this morning, and then make a decision later on this afternoon.”
For the Wings, veteran blueliner Jeff Petry is under the weather and will be a game time decision tonight.
For the Caps, tonight can come soon enough. In a season filled with peaks and valleys, they find themselves in a playoff position with a dozen games remaining in the season. They control their destiny, and they can firm up their good position if they can manage to author a third straight win here tonight.
“One hundred percent,” says Caps’ center Connor McMichael. “We know how tight the race is, especially with Detroit. It feels like tonight’s a night that can really separate us, or it could put us in a less fortunate situation than we would be with the two points. We know what’s at stake, and we feel it this morning. All of the guys are excited for the opportunity to show what we’re made of, and to show that we do belong in the playoffs. That’s going to be fun.”
Keep Marching On – Strome and Caps’ captain Alex Ovechkin – named the League’s number one star for the week ending March 24 – have been Washington’s leading scorers all season long, and the two head into tonight’s game all even with 58 points on the season.
Both Strome and Ovechkin have fattened their scoring totals in the month of March, as each has typically done over the course of his respective career. Strome has piled up 72 points (23 goals, 49 assists) in as many March games, by far the best month of his career. His next best month is December, which features 49 points (20 goals, 29 assists) in 73 games. This March, Strome has totaled 15 points (two goals, 13 assists) in a dozen games.
Ovechkin has amassed 273 points (154 goals, 119 assists) over the course of his 19 seasons in the League in the month of March, and each of those totals is his highest for any month over the course of his career. This March, Ovechkin has put up 10 goals and 15 points in a dozen games.
Ovechkin has assisted on 13 of Strome’s 23 goals this season, and Strome has helped out on a dozen of Ovechkin’s 26 goals this season, including nine of the captain’s last 17 goals. The two have collected assists on the same goal three times this season – twice on T.J. Oshie goals and once on a Tom Wilson lamplighter – so the duo of Strome and Ovechkin has factored on the same goal 28 times this season, accounting for nearly half of each player’s point total to this juncture of the season.
First Cut Is The Deepest – Hockey is a 60-minute game, but both the Capitals and the Red Wings tend to take control of contests in which they hold an advantage at first intermission, as this nugget from the estimable Carter Myers shows.
When leading after 20 minutes of play this season, the Capitals are 17-2-0 (.895) this season. When trailing after the first period this season, Washington is 6-20-5 (.194).
When leading after 20 minutes of play this season, the Red Wings are 16-1-1 (.889) this season. When trailing after the first period this season, Detroit is 4-16-2 (.182).
Although the Caps were nicked for 13 goals against in the first two games of the current homestand, they’re coming off a 3-0 shutout win over Winnipeg on Sunday, and they’ve yielded two or fewer goals against in four of their last six games. Washington is 25-2-2 when it gives up two or fewer goals against this season.
In The Nets – During the course of the Caps’ recent 13-6-2 surge up the standings, Charlie Lindgren has picked up 11 of those 13 victories. Since Feb. 10 when he notched the first of those 11 wins, only Nashville’s Juuse Saros and Buffalo’s Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen have earned more victories; each of them has a dozen over that same span.
It’s no surprise that Lindgren is the guy between the pipes tonight in an incredibly important contest, perhaps the most important one of the season to date. Among all NHL goaltenders with at least 25 appearances this season, Lindgren’s .936 save pct. – in all strength situations – with his team owning the lead is .936, tops in the League.
Lifetime against Detroit, Lindgren is 3-2-0 with a 3.75 GAA and an .862 save pct. in five appearances, all starts. Lindgren’s career numbers against the Wings are marred by his presence in net for that previously noted Feb. 27 game in which Washington suffered an 8-3 loss while facing a rested Detroit team on the back end of a set of back-to-backs for the Caps.
Lindgren will be making the 100th appearance of his NHL career tonight.
Veteran journeyman Alex Lyon is in net for the Wings tonight. Lyon spent the previous six seasons yo-yoing between the AHL and NHL in the Philadelphia, Carolina and Florida systems. Around this time a year ago, he caught fire for the Panthers, helping the Cats make a late season push into the second wild card spot, and ultimately, to the 2023 Stanley Cup Final before they bowed to Vegas.
Lyon entered last season with seven career NHL victories in five seasons, but he won nine games with Florida in 2022-23, including six in March and April, when he went 6-2-1. That performance earned him a contract with Detroit last summer, and this season is the first in which he has remained in the NHL throughout.
Although he didn’t make his first appearance of the season until Nov. 17 – in Detroit’s 17th game of the season – Lyon enters tonight’s game with team-leading totals of 36 appearances and 18 wins, both of which are career highs. Tonight, Lyon will be seeking to halt a seven-game slide; his last victory was the 8-3 win over the Caps in Detroit on Feb. 27.
In seven March starts, Lyon is 0-7-0 with a 4.46 GAA and an .876 save pct. He has yielded four or more goals against in six of his last eight starts, but he is coming off a strong 31-save outing against the Preds in Nashville on Saturday afternoon in the opener of Detroit’s season-long five-game road trip. The Wings lost that one, 1-0.
Lifetime against the Capitals, Lyon is 2-1-1 with a 2.89 GAA and a .908 save pct. in five appearances, four starts.
All Lined Up – Here’s how the Caps and the Red Wings might look on Tuesday night in Washington:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 24-McMichael, 77-Oshie
63-Miroshnichenko, 17-Strome, 21-Protas
67-Pacioretty, 29-Lapierre, 23-Sgarbossa
47-Malenstyn, 26-Dowd, 96-Aubé-Kubel
Defensemen
42-Fehervary, 74-Carlson
38-Sandin, 3-Jensen
27-Alexeyev, 57-van Riemsdyk
Goaltenders
79-Lindgren
35-Kuemper
Injured/Out
15-Milano (upper body)
19-Backstrom (lower body)
43-Wilson (NHL suspension)
Scratches
25-Bear
DETROIT
Forwards
57-Perron, 71-Larkin, 23-Raymond
93-DeBrincat, 37-Compher, 88-Kane
27-Rasmussen, 18-Copp, 36-Fischer
90-Veleno, 21-Czarnik, 14-Fabbri
Defensemen
8-Chiarot, 53-Seider
77-Edvinsson, 3-Holl
2-Maatta, 41-Gostisbehere
Goaltenders
34-Lyon
47-Reimer
Injured/Out
35-Husso (lower body)
46-Petry (illness)
96-Walman (lower body)
Scratches
None
