The Washington Capitals (21-15-6) continue their three-game homestand on Monday night. They will host the Anaheim Ducks (21-17-3) at Capital One Arena.
The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. ET.
The last time these two teams met was in Anaheim exactly one month ago on Dec. 5, where the Capitals fell 4-3 in a shootout. Earlier in that game, Ryan Leonard took a controversial hit from Jacob Trouba and had to miss some time.
Starting with that game, the Capitals are 4-6-4, and they’ve averaged 2.64 goals per game (tied with Los Angeles for 24th). The team has also yielded an average of 3.36 goals per game (tied with Columbus for 25th) in the NHL.
The Capitals began their homestand on Saturday night with a 3-2 shootout loss to Chicago. The team has struggled in the skills competition and is now 0-5 this season.
However, the bigger story from that game was Tom Wilson going down with a lower-body injury. The 31-year-old collided with Chicago’s Connor Murphy and landed awkwardly on his right leg.
Thankfully, while Wilson is out for Monday’s game, he is listed as day-to-day as the injury isn’t considered serious. It’s certainly possible that he will return for both the Capitals and Team Canada in February.
Meanwhile, Anaheim started a three-game winning streak since they beat the Capitals in early December. However, they have won just two of their last 11 games (2-7-2).
Anaheim is currently on a five-game losing streak (0-4-1), as they begin a four-game road trip searching for their first win since Dec. 20.
Expected Capitals Lines
Forwards
Alex Ovechkin – Dylan Strome – Anthony Beauvillier
Connor McMichael – Justin Sourdif – Aliaksei Protas
Ryan Leonard – Nic Dowd – Ethen Frank
Brandon Duhaime – Hendrix Lapierre – Sonny Milano
Defensemen
Martin Fehervary – John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun – Matt Roy
Rasmus Sandin – Dylan McIlrath
Goalie
Charlie Lindgren
Expected Ducks Lines
Forwards
Cutter Gauthier – Leo Carlsson – Alex Killorn
Chris Kreider – Mason McTavish – Becket Sennecke
Nikita Nesterenko – Mikael Granlund – Troy Terry
Jansen Harkins – Ryan Poehling – Ross Johnston
Defensemen
Jackson LaCombe – Jacob Trouba
Olen Zellweger – Radko Gudas
Pavel Mintyukov – Ian Moore
Goalie
Petr Mrazek
How to Watch
TV: Monumental Sports Network
Radio: 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio Network
