Capitals at Avalanche: Lines, Notes & How to Watch

The Washington Capitals (35-27-8) conclude their final multi-game homestand of the 2025-26 season. They will host the Colorado Avalanche (43-13-10) for some Sunday afternoon hockey at Capital One Arena.

The puck drops at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Sunday’s matinee is the Capitals’ fourth game of the current homestand. The team is 2-0-1 in the homestand heading into the finale.

The Capitals are coming off a 2-1 victory over New Jersey on Friday night. Logan Thompson was remarkable in net while Ryan Leonard and Aliaksei Protas each scored for Washington.

Thompson notched 30 saves in net and came close to a shutout until New Jersey’s Jesper Bratt scored. Regardless, Protas had already sealed the win with an empty-netter.

With Friday’s win, the Capitals extended their point streak to four games (3-0-1), and are 10-5-1 since Jan. 29. That record puts them tied with Philadelphia for the sixth-best record in the NHL over that span.

Goaltending, defense, and penalty kill have been key for the Capitals in their last 16 games. They have allowed the fourth-fewest goals against (2.50 per game), while the PK has been successful on 88.6 percent of its missions.

Meanwhile, Colorado enters Sunday’s game with the best record in the NHL. Though most recently, the Avalanche ended a three-game slide (0-2-1) with a 4-1 win over Chicago on Friday night.

This will be the second and final matchup between the Capitals and Avalanche this season. Colorado took the previous meeting 5-2 in its home arena on Jan. 19.

Expected Capitals Lines

Forwards

Alex Ovechkin – Dylan Strome – Anthony Beauvillier

Aliaksei Protas – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Tom Wilson

Connor McMichael – Justin Sourdif – Ryan Leonard

Brandon Duhaime – Hendrix Lapierre – Ethen Frank

Defensemen

Martin Fehervary – Rasmus Sandin

Jakob Chychrun – Trevor van Riemsdyk

Cole Hutson – Matt Roy

Goalies

Logan Thompson

Charlie Lindgren

Expected Avalanche Lines

Forwards

Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Necas

Nazem Kadri – Brock Nelson – Valeri Nichushkin

Parker Kelly – Jack Drury – Nicolas Roy

Joel Kiviranta – Zakhar Bardakov – Gavin Brindley

Defensemen

Brett Kulak – Cale Makar

Devon Toews – Sam Malinski

Josh Manson – Brent Burns

Goalies

Mackenzie Blackwood

Scott Wedgewood

How to Watch

TV: Monumental Sports Network

Radio: 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio Network

By Harry Lichtman

Harry Lichtman is an award-winning journalist who covers the Washington Capitals for Sportsnaut. He also contributes to the sites ... More about Harry Lichtman