Ducks at Capitals
When the Washington Capitals host the red-hot Anaheim Ducks on Monday, two of the last three Hart Trophy winners will participate and the next one also could be on the ice. As Washington's Alex Ovechkin enjoys another MVP-type season with an NHL-best 30 goals and Anaheim's Corey Perry continues to play at a high level, captain Ryan Getzlaf has led the Ducks to a franchise-record eight straight victories following their 5-3 comeback win against the Islanders in New York on Saturday.
"He put it upon himself that he was going to take this team," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said of Getzlaf, who recorded his second career hat trick against the Islanders and is third in the NHL in scoring with 43 points - two ahead of Ovechkin and three clear of Perry. "Everybody rode with him. He was the catalyst, for sure. He wasn’t going to be denied." As the season approaches its midway point, both teams appear to be playoff-caliber as Anaheim has a league-best 57 points and Washington sits second in the Metropolitan Division. The Capitals are coming off a 5-4 overtime loss to New Jersey on Saturday and have alternated wins and losses in their last six while going 3-1-2.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Anaheim), CSN (Washington)
ABOUT THE DUCKS (26-7-5): Frederik Andersen (9-1-0) on Saturday became the third goaltender in NHL history to earn at least nine victories in his first 10 games, according to Elias Sports Bureau, joining Philadelphia's Bob Froese (9-0-1 in 1983) and Boston's Frank Brimsek (9-1-0, 1938). Jonas Hiller (15-4-4) is riding a six-game winning streak and Anaheim's strong defense is led by Francois Beauchemin (league-leading plus-21 rating). Dustin Penner (10 goals, 24 points in 30 games) has regained his offensive touch while reunited with Getzlaf and Perry in his first season back with the Ducks after winning the Stanley Cup with them in 2007.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (19-13-4): Ovechkin is on pace to surpass his season-high goal total of 65 set in 2007-08, when he won the first of his three Hart Trophies, and has scored in four straight games. Coach Adam Oates has goaltending issues as Michal Neuvirth returned from a leg injury but was unhappy after being scratched as rookie Philipp Grubauer improved to 4-0-1 with a 4-2 victory at Carolina on Friday. Braden Holtby (13-10-2, 3.00 goals-against average, .915 save percentage) is 3-4-2 in his last nine decisions - including Saturday's loss - after a 9-2-0 stretch, but Oates said earlier this week that Holtby is "our No. 1 guy.''
OVERTIME
1. Anaheim has won five straight on the road and has played an NHL-high 23 games away from home.
2. Ovechkin is the only player in the NHL with 30 or more goals in each of the last nine seasons and one of six to accomplish the feat in his first nine years, joining Jari Kurri, Wayne Gretzky, Mike Gartner, Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier.
3. Getzlaf has 19 goals and is on pace to shatter his career high of 25 set in 2006-07 and matched in 2008-09.