It is a three-game week for the Washington Capitals in Week 9 featuring a visitor from the west coast and a visit to the land of snow and chicken wings, with a matchup against their uber rival in the middle game of the week.
The Opponents
Anaheim Ducks (Monday 7:00pm – Capital One Arena)
The Anaheim Ducks make their only visit to Washington on Monday night. Since putting together an eight-game winning streak from Hallowe’en through November 16th, ending with an overtime win over the Caps in Anaheim, the Ducks have struggled. In their last eight games they are 3-4-1, although they do show signs of emerging from their skid with points in their last three games (2-0-1).
The Ducks were leading the Pacific Division when they won their eighth straight game on November 16th, but they have since slipped to third, trailing Calgary and Edmonton in the division standings. Their 3-4-1 record is tied for 22nd in the league since their winning streak, and they have struggled on both sides of the puck, their 2.88 goals per game over their 3-4-1 run are tied for 19th in the league over that span, while their 3.38 goals allowed per game rank 25th.
It has not been a matter of weakness on special teams. The Ducks’ 26.3 percent power play ranks eighth during their slump, while the 82.6 percent penalty kill ranks 12th. Their problem has been at 5-on-5, where the Ducks have a minus-10 goal differential over their last eight games. Couple that with their allowing 13 third period goals during the slump (second most in the league to Ottawa’s 16), and there is less mystery to the Ducks’ struggles of late.
The Ducks have not been a particularly successful road team this season, either, largely a product of allowing 3.90 goals per game, 28th in road scoring defense. But the Caps will have to contend with a Ducks road power play that, at 29.2 percent, ranks fourth in the league.
Washington is 19-18-2 (one tie) in the all-time series against Anaheim, 10-9-1 on home ice. The Caps are 6-3-1 against the Ducks in their last ten games against Anaheim on home ice.
Pittsburgh Penguins (Friday/7:00pm – Capital One Arena)
The Pittsburgh Penguins will wrap up a five-game road trip, their longest of the season to date, when they visit Washington on Friday. The Penguins have been streaky over the last month, streaks of all kinds, it turns out. They started a streak of four consecutive extra time games back on November 4th, going 2-0-2 in those games, followed by a three-game losing streak (0-3-0), a five-game winning streak, and another three-game losing streak (0-2-1) before snapping that streak with a 4-1 win over Vancouver on Saturday.
The Penguins have been that odd team that has a better road record than they have on home ice, entering the new week with a 6-3-3 road record and 5-5-2 on home ice. What is more, they have been a hot team of late when taking their show on the road, going 5-1-1 in their last seven road contests after a 1-2-2 start on the road this season.
The Penguins’ road philosophy seems to keep things simple and play stout defense. Their road scoring defense – 2.42 goals allowed per game – ranks third in the league, and only once in their recent 5-1-1 road record did they allow more than two goals, a 5-2 loss in Edmonton on December 1st. Limiting shots has been noteworthy for the Pens, who have allowed only 28.2 shots per game on the road, third-fewest in the league. Their road penalty kill has been especially effective as well, their 90.0 percent kill rate on the road ranking first in the league as the new week begins.
For the Caps, beware of allowing the first goal. Pittsburgh and Edmonton are the only teams in the league with perfect records when scoring first on the road. The Pens are 5-0-0 in this category. The Pens also finish well in road games when carrying a lead into the third period on the road, going 5-0-0 so far.
Washington will be seeking to even the all-time series against the Penguins with this game, taking a 103-104-14 (16 ties) into this contest. The Caps are 60-45-7 (nine ties) on home ice in the all-time series against the Pens. The Caps are 5-3-2 against Pittsburgh in their last ten games on home ice.
Buffalo Sabres (Saturday/7:00pm – KeyBank Center)
The Sabres have fallen on hard times. Buffalo started the season with a 5-1-1 record, but starting with Hallowe’en, they are 3-12-2 in their last 17 games, the third-worst record in the league over that span and second-worst in points percentage. Home cooking has not helped, either. The Sabres go into the new week with a 1-5-0 record on home ice in their last six home games and allowed five or more goals in each of the five losses. Oddly enough, Buffalo scored four goals in four of those six games, losing three times when doing so. All told, they have been outscored, 30-17 in their last six home games.
Scoring defense on home ice has been an issue all season for the Sabres, who rank 30th in the league in home ice scoring defense to date (3.46 goals allowed per game). Seven times in 13 home games, Buffalo allowed four or more goals and twice allowed seven goals, including their last home game going into the new week, a 7-4 loss to the Seattle Kraken.
It is no doubt frustrating for the Sabres, who have been reasonably productive at 5-on-5 at home, scoring 28 goals at fives, ninth in the league. But they have allowed 31 goals at 5-on-5 on home ice, tied with Vegas for most in the league.
A big part of their problem at home has been early leakiness. The Sabres have allowed 19 first period goals in 13 home games, most in the league by a wide margin (New Jersey and Arizona have allowed 15 first period goals on home ice). And, they have taken a lead into the first intermission only once so far on home ice.
The Capitals are 65-85-7 (15 ties) in the all-time series against the Sabres, 30-46-3 (six ties) on the road against Buffalo. Washington is 6-3-1 in their last ten games in Buffalo.
Hot Caps:
Cold Caps:
Weird Facts:
Potential Milestones to Reach This Week (or soon):
Alex Ovechkin
Carl Hagelin
Evgeny Kuznetsov
Tom Wilson
Lars Eller