Keep On Doin’ – Two days after winning a most important game against division rival Philadelphia, the Caps aim to keep the ball rolling when they host the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday afternoon at Capital One Arena. Sunday’s game closes out a quick two-game homestand for the Capitals, and it’s the finale – and lone United States stop – of a five-game road trip for the Coyotes.
Three months ago in Arizona, the Caps caught the Coyotes at their peak; Arizona rolled over the Caps 6-0 in the finale of Washington’s five-game road trip. That victory was the fifth in succession for the Coyotes at the time, and all five came against teams that had won the Stanley Cup since 2018.
Today, the Caps catch the Coyotes in a valley, comparatively. Arizona halted a 14-game slide (0-12-2) on Friday night with a 5-3 victory over the Senators in Ottawa. As Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery noted this morning though, the Coyotes should not be taken lightly. The caliber of opposition they faced over the life of that losing streak was daunting.
“Players are caught up in their own schedule and what’s going on in the next game, and this and that,” says Carbery. “But they do follow around the League, and what’s going on. If you were to turn on the TV a couple of days ago or three days ago, you would see that Arizona was going through a tough stretch, right? But when you dive into that stretch, go take a look at the last 14 teams they played against, through that stretch. It’s just littered with playoff teams and the top teams in the League.
“So if you were looking at it and thinking, ‘Oh, this is great. I can go about 75 [percent] tonight and I should have a good night,’ you’re going to be surprised very early in this hockey game.”
Given the circumstances of the game today – both teams coming off uplifting wins, the Caps finishing a homestand and the Coyotes finishing a long road trip – Washington is aware that it must guard against a letdown against Arizona, which always seems to be a tough two points for the Caps, regardless of venue.
“As a staff, we’re doing everything we can to prevent that,” says Carbery, “and making sure that in this situation – afternoon game, Sunday, coming off the performance against Philly, all the intensity, emotion – sometimes you can have difficulty in these situations, cranking that back up. And that’s what we’re – as a staff – preparing extremely detailed and well thought out [plans] to counter that. It doesn’t mean it’s always going to work out, but that’s what we’re very guarded against that happening today.”
Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2018, the Caps are just 4-4-1 in their last nine meetings with the Coyotes. At home, the Caps have won only one of four games (1-2-1) against Arizona over that span, scoring a grand total of just eight goals in those four home games against the Yotes.
Winger Beck Malenstyn (illness) and blueliner Rasmus Sandin (undisclosed injury) did not take part in Saturday’s practice session at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. Hours before Sunday’s puck drop, Carbery believes that Malenstyn will be good to go, but he notes that Sandin’s presence – or lack thereof – in today’s lineup will be a true game time decision.
If Sandin is unable to answer the bell today, Ethan Bear would step into the Washington lineup.
In The Nets – Charlie Lindgren gets the net for Washington this afternoon, making his third consecutive start. Lindgren was excellent on Friday night in a 5-2 victory over Philadelphia; he made 21 saves to earn his 13th victory of the season, matching his single-season career best, achieved in 2022-23. Coming into today’s game against Arizona, both Washington netminders – Lindgren and Darcy Kuemper – have made 29 appearances this season and both have 13 victories.
Lindgren has won three of his last five starts (3-1-1) and has yielded three or fewer goals against in four of the five outings. On the season, the Caps are 26-5-6 in games in which they permit three or fewer goals against.
Lifetime against the Coyotes, Lindgren is 0-1-0 with a 4.61 GAA and an .852 save pct. in two appearances (one start).
For Arizona, Karel Vejmelka gets the start, giving us a rare battle of netminders whose right hands are their catching glove hands. On the season, Vejmelka is 7-15-2 with a 3.15 GAA and an .894 save pct. in 27 appearances. But Vejmelka has always been tough on the Capitals. Lifetime against Washington, he is only 1-3-0 in four appearances – all starts – but he boasts a 2.02 GAA and a .938 save pct. in that quartet of contests against the Caps.
All Lined Up – Here’s how we believe the Caps and Coyotes may look on Sunday afternoon in the District:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 29-Lapierre, 43-Wilson
67-Pacioretty, 17-Strome, 15-Milano
21-Protas, 24-McMichael, 39-Mantha
47-Malenstyn, 23-Sgarbossa, 96-Aubé-Kubel
Defensemen
38-Sandin, 74-Carlson
6-Edmundson, 3-Jensen
27-Alexeyev, 57-van Riemsdyk
Goaltenders
79-Lindgren
35-Kuemper
Injured/Out
19-Backstrom (lower body)
26-Dowd (upper body)
42-Fehervary (lower body)
77-Oshie (upper body)
Scratches
25-Bear
63-Miroshnichenko
72-Dubé
ARIZONA
Forwards
15-Kerfoot, 29-Hayton, 8-Schmaltz
63-Maccelli, 17-Bjugstad, 67-Crouse
16-Zucker, 92-Cooley, 11-Guenther
53-Carcone, 22-McBain, 38-O’Brien
Defensemen
90-Moser, 24-Dumba
50-Durzi, 5-Kesselring
4-Valimaki, 51-Stecher
Goaltenders
39-Ingram
70-Vejmelka
Injured/Out
9-Keller (upper body)
72-Boyd (torn pectoral)
Scratches
3-Brown
33-Dermott
