Washington is finishing a four-game Western swing Sunday at 6 p.m. Pacific against the Kraken. The Capitals lost to Anaheim in overtime Tuesday, shut out the LA Kings Wednesday and completed the first end of back-to-back games with a win in San Jose Saturday.
Caps goalie Ilya Samsonov "threw" the 2-0 shutout in Los Angeles, saving 34 shots. It's likely he starts against San Jose, which means Vitek Vanecek, drafted by Seattle in July's expansion draft then traded back to Washington for a 2023 second-round pick, might well be in net Sunday. Vanecek is 4-2-4 in 11 starts for the Caps with a .911 save percentage and 2.39 goals-against average.
Washington is enduring injuries to key forwards, including Seattle-area native T.J. Oshie (listed as "game-time decision" Saturday night), Nicklas Backstrom and Anthony Mantha. Yet the Caps sport the third-best record in the NHL, thanks in no small part to a top line of all-time great Alex Ovechkin (14 goals, 15 assists), center Evgeny Kuznetsov (6 G, 15 A) and antagonistic winger Tom Wilson (5 G, 9 A, 20 penalty minutes).