Capitals at Jets
Sometimes a hot goaltender can make the difference, and the Washington Capitals hope Braden Holtby continues his stellar play Saturday when the Capitals visit the Winnipeg Jets. The Capitals have won six games in a row, and much of the credit goes to the 26-year-old Holtby, who has allowed just 12 goals while starting every game of the winning streak.
“We don’t win that hockey game or even get close to that without his performance,” Washington coach Barry Trotz told reporters after Holtby made 33 saves in Thursday’s 3-2 victory at Montreal. Washington’s third victory on its streak came against the Jets, a 5-3 triumph Nov. 25 during which Evgeny Kuznetsov totaled three points (one goal, two assists) and Holtby made 23 saves. But Winnipeg has won two of three since that defeat, beating Toronto 6-1 on Wednesday as rookie goaltender Connor Hellebuyck improved to 2-0-0. “It was kind of the start of some hockey that we liked,” Jets coach Paul Maurice told the media Friday in referencing the first matchup with Washington. “It was almost a starting point of our defensive game starting to round together.”
TV: 3 p.m. ET, CSN-DC (Washington), SNET (Winnipeg)
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (18-5-1): Washington made the most of a season-low 19 shots Thursday, getting two goals from forward T.J. Oshie and a goal for the second consecutive game from forward Tom Wilson. Kuznetsov ranks in the top 10 in the NHL in assists (18) and the always dangerous Alex Ovechkin has two goals and two assists in his past four games. Holtby has a 1.87 goals against average and a .936 save percentage during the winning streak, and leads the league with 16 wins.
ABOUT THE JETS (12-12-2): The 22-year-old Hellebuyck has impressed in his first two NHL games, stopping 46-of-48 shots, and has benefited from an improved defensive effort of late by Winnipeg. The Jets have outshot their past three opponents after giving up more shots in five of their previous six games. Forward Blake Wheeler ranks in the top 10 in the league in points, and captain Andrew Ladd has points in four of his past five contests.
OVERTIME
1. Winnipeg’s line of Mark Scheifele, Mathieu Perreault and Drew Stafford combined for seven points Wednesday as Stafford scored twice and Scheifele recorded his 100th career point on a third-period goal.
2. Washington has scored first in every game during its winning streak, tallying the opening goal five times in the first period and twice on its first shot of the game.
3. Ladd scored a goal and an assist in the earlier meeting with Washington.