Capitals at Avalanche
The Washington Capitals are re-establishing themselves as the top team in the NHL with five straight wins and look avoid a letdown when they visit the league-worst Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday. Captain Alex Ovechkin registered a hat trick in a 5-4 overtime victory at Minnesota on Tuesday as the Capitals extended their point streak to seven games (6-0-1).
Ovechkin has scored five goals in his last four games and linemate Nicklas Backstrom has recorded 11 points in his last five contests for Washington, which owns a three-point lead over second-place Columbus in the Metropolitan Division. The Capitals have warmed up on the power play, going 10-for-30 over their last nine games, and hope to continue that success in the postseason. The Avalanche have dropped six straight contests and are 3-12-0 in their last 15 after suffering a 4-2 loss at Calgary on Monday despite registering 14 shots in the third period and scoring twice. “It was a good effort,” Colorado's Sven Andrighetto told the Denver Post. “We started shooting pucks in the third, crashing the net. Put some pressure on them. We have to play a full 60 (minutes) to maybe give us a chance.”
TV: 10 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington), Altitude (Colorado)
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (50-17-8): Washington reached 50 wins for the fifth time in franchise history and has a chance to match or better last season’s total of 56 with seven contests left on the schedule. While Backstrom and Ovechkin are hitting their stride, T.J. Oshie also has been hot as he has scored six goals in his last five games, including the overtime winner on Tuesday to increase his career-high season total to 32. Braden Holtby hit the 40-win plateau for the third straight season on Tuesday and could be rested against Colorado in favor of Philipp Grubauer (10-6-2, 2.10 goals-against average, .925 save percentage).
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (20-52-3): Andrighetto, who came over from Montreal at the trade deadline, is proving to be a solid pickup as he has scored three goals in his last two contests and posted nine points in 12 games this month. Nathan MacKinnon leads the team with 48 points after recording a goal and three assists over his last six games while Matt Duchene still tops Colorado with 17 tallies despite managing one in his last 18 contests. Rookie Mikko Rantanen continues to show promise for the future with two goals and two assists in his last five games.
OVERTIME
1. The Capitals have allowed a total of eight goals while winning their last five meetings with the Avalanche, including a 3-0 home triumph on Oct. 18.
2. Colorado is 1-for-21 with the man advantage over its last eight contests and has allowed five power-play goals in the past two games.
3. Washington LW Marcus Johansson notched four assists Tuesday, giving him seven in his last five contests.