PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Capitals

The Edmonton Oilers look to start another win streak on Tuesday night when they begin a six-game homestand against Alex Ovechkin & the Washington Capitals at Rogers Place.

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PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Capitals

EDMONTON, AB – Battle of the Beasts.

One from the East, one from the West.

The Edmonton Oilers will kick off their season-high six-game homestand at Rogers Place on Tuesday night with a visit from Alex Ovechkin and the league-leading Washington Capitals, hoping to start a new win streak after their previous run came to an end against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.

The Blue & Orange saw their four-game win streak snapped by their Pacific Division rivals despite Leon Draisaitl scoring two goals in the second period to extend his point streak to six games, bringing the Oilers back within one after trailing 3-0 heading into the first intermission.

The Oilers had come back from multi-goal deficits in their previous two matchups, but against the Canucks, their effort came up short in a 3-2 defeat – but not before Edmonton was dealt an additional blow late in regulation.

Things took a negative turn for the Oilers late in the third period when McDavid was held down for nearly 15 seconds by Canucks forward Conor Garland, resulting in the captain retaliating with a cross-check up high and being assessed a match penalty by the officials.

McDavid was suspended three games by the NHL's Department of Player Safety on Monday and will miss tonight's matchup with the Capitals, along with a rematch against the Canucks on Thursday and a matinée meeting with the Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Vancouver blueliner Tyler Myers was also given a match penalty and a matching three-game suspension for cross-checking Evan Bouchard during the ensuing melee.

McDavid's suspension is the second of his career after he received a two-game ban in February 2019, and he'll be eligible to return on Monday, Jan. 27 against the Seattle Kraken.

"People that don't watch every day don't fully understand," Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said of McDavid. "I think we do see it a little bit differently because it's not just the big plays – it's the little things constantly that he's had to deal with basically since he's come in. I don't think it's a buildup of that. It's just simply his individual play."

Defenceman John Klingberg skated for the first time on Monday morning since signing with the Oilers on Jan. 17 and is hoping to get back into action for the first time in over 400 days before the NHL schedule breaks for the 4 Nations Face-Off after Edmonton's game against Colorado on Feb. 7.

Klingberg has appeared in 633 career NHL games, amassing 412 points (81 goals, 331 assists), but hasn't played since Nov. 11, 2023 when he was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Swedish blueliner played in just 14 games last season, registering five assists before choosing to undergo surgery and ending his campaign early to address hip issues that have bothered him for nearly his entire career.

“The motion I have now is better than I ever remember it being, so it's just a matter of getting used to it and working through it," Klingberg said after Oilers practice on Monday. "I've been skating for a while, so I feel like I'm coming along really well, and it's just a matter of getting to the pace of playing against the best players in the world again.”

Well known for his exploits as an offensive defenceman, recording a career-high 67 points (eight goals, 59 assists) over 82 games with the Dallas Stars in 2017-18, Klingberg understands the biggest gains need to come away from the puck – an area he felt the most impacted in before having surgery.

“A big part of my game is positioning, playing with the puck and creating offence," he said. "But also, I want to be reliable on the defensive side as well, and I haven't been over the last few years, which I know is something that I'm going to have to come back and prove so I can be some kind of a corner piece in a successful team, and that's how I look at it,” he said.

“For me, it's important to come back and obviously contribute with the puck, but being reliable defensively as well, and I think that's something that I hope to prove and I’m pretty confident that it's going to be a lot better just because the way I move.”

Oilers fans will have to wait at least a week to see him debut, Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said, and his comeback is aided by having spent the past eight months regaining strength and skating to help him get back up to NHL speed.

"He probably could've been ready to play in an NHL training camp, but he wanted to make sure he was ready to have a good year and that his body's 100 percent so he can just make a good impression and help himself in the future."

The Oilers have made a few successful mid-season veteran additions over the past few years – including Evander Kane and Corey Perry – and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is confident the new Swede will fit in seamlessly with their team culture and systems.

"I think with our system and our mentality too, you can kind of stick in anybody with offensive upside and they can adapt pretty quick to our defensive style of play," Nugent-Hopkins said. "Obviously, he's a smart player and an older player now, so he gets it, and I don't think he'll be making any crazy dangerous plays out there. He'll be able to read it and will understand our mentality pretty quick."

'Ovi' on the other side, the Great Eight needs no introduction.

The 39-year-old Alex Ovechkin is just 21 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record of 894. His current pace of 0.70 goals per game this season would have him breaking it in the nation’s capital against Chicago on Apr. 4. If he regresses to his career average of 0.60, he will complete this incredible feat on Apr. 15 against the New York Islanders.

Alex Ovechkin leads all active skaters in 50-goal seasons with nine – six ahead of second place, which is held by the Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl, who has had plenty of praise for him over the years.

“The whole game plan is not to let Ovechkin get looks around the net and not let him shoot it from the left circle,” Draisaitl said last November. “And every single night, you go on the NHL app and see ‘Ovi pots two’… everyone knows it’s coming.”

With 21 goals in 30 games this season – a total lowered after missing five weeks by a fractured left fibula – Ovechkin has now posted 20 seasons of 20-plus goals 20 separate times, which is two off the record posted by Gordie Howe. Ovechkin already holds the records for most 30-plus goal seasons (18) and 40-plus goal seasons (13) in NHL history.

Ovechkin hasn’t scored in Edmonton since Oct. 24, 2019, when he scored two goals, and has only posted one point at Rogers Place since (Mar. 13, 2024).

The Capitals as a team lead the NHL with an impressive 31-10-5 record, having earned a point in 10 straight games (7-0-3). Washington will be seeking revenge against the Oilers for taking both games in the season series by a 12-2 goal margin. The two sides wrap up their season series on Feb. 23 in Washington.

Leon Draisaitl has posted five multi-point games over his last seven matchups with the Capitals and eight goals over their last eight showdowns, while Zach Hyman has posted three straight multi-point efforts against Washington.

Connor Brown has three points over his last three games against his former team – including his first goal as an Oiler last March that ended a 55-game goalless drought while wearing Blue & Orange. Brown played four games with the Capitals 2022-23 prior to suffering a season-ending knee injury and has six goals and 13 assists in 43 games this campaign.

Dylan Strome leads the Capitals thanks to a career resurgence that's seen him produce 46 points (12 goals, 34 assists) in 46 games this season. Aliaksei Protas, the 6-foot-6 Belarusian, is second in team scoring with 38 points (19 goals, 19 assists) in 46 contests.

Goaltender Logan Thompson is expected to start for the Capitals at Rogers Place and is coming off being named the NHL’s First Star of the Week with a 3-0-0 record, a 0.33 GAA and a .984 SV% with two shutouts.

Edmonton's projected starter in Stuart Skinner has stopped 121 of 131 shots against the Capitals over his career, which is good enough for a 2-2-0 record. He has won his past two matchups against Washington, including a shutout on Nov. 24, 2023.