Tag: Caps

Jan. 30 vs. Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Center

Time: 7:00 p.m.

TV: MNMT

Radio: 106.7 THE FAN, Caps Radio 24/7

The Capitals reach the end of their five-game road trip and the conclusion of their 14-game January slate on Thursday night in Ottawa when they face the Senators for the second of three times this season. The first meeting between the two nation’s capital cities occurred here in Ottawa two weeks ago when Washington eked out a 1-0 overtime victory on the strength of a second consecutive Logan Thompson shutout (24 saves) and Alex Ovechkin’s game-winning overtime goal, the 27th of his NHL career.

As they return to the Eastern Time Zone for the first time in over a week for Thursday’s trip finale, the Caps carry a 3-1-0 record for the trip to date. Their lone misstep on the journey was a 2-1 setback to the Canucks in Vancouver on Saturday night, a loss that ended a six-game winning streak, the team’s longest of the season. Washington is 9-1-3 in January, and its total of 21 points this month matches the output of its best previous month of the season to date; the Caps also rolled up 21 points in November (10-4-1).

Most recently, the Caps earned a 3-1 victory over the Flames in Calgary on Tuesday. Thompson won his 11th consecutive start in that game, winning in his hometown of Calgary with a 32-save outing that lifted his record to 23-2-3 on the season. Thompson has permitted two or fewer goals against in 19 of his last 23 starts, dating back to Nov. 2.

Tuesday’s win over the Flames in Calgary was also satisfying for Washington winger Andrew Mangiapane, who played the first seven seasons and 417 games of his NHL in a Flames uniform.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Mangiapane after the victory. “Obviously, I know a lot of guys on that team and I think half of them were maybe at my wedding, so there are good relationships there. It’s definitely nice to get the two points, and I’m really impressed by the way our team battled tonight and really dug deep; the power play, the [penalty kill], everything was huge for us, and it’s a really great feeling to come away with two points.”

Calgary made the night special with a stirring video tribute of Mangiapane’s many exploits in a Calgary sweater, shown on the Scotiabank Saddledome video board at the first television timeout of the first period.

“It was awesome, it was a great video tribute,” says Mangiapane. “It was great to watch all those plays, goals and everything like that. I had a lot of great memories here, scored a lot of big goals and just watching a great fan base and crowd that always had my back here, and every time I stepped out on the ice, they wanted nothing but the best for me.

“I’m happy to be back, and happy to be coming away with two points. But it was a good video tribute that I’ll remember forever.”

For just the sixth time in their history, Washington has strung together eight straight games in which it has surrendered two or fewer goals against. The franchise record is nine consecutive games, achieved just once, and the achievement was ongoing at this time 27 years ago.

From Jan. 9-31, 1998 – the month after they moved from suburban Landover, Md. to downtown DC – the Caps went nine straight games without permitting as many as three goals against in any of them. They went 6-1-2 in those nine games in 1997-98. This year’s model is 7-1-0 through eight games.

The Caps are the NHL’s stingiest defensive squad, allowing an average of 2.34 goals against per game. Washington has permitted just 11 goals against in its last 10 games, and it has yielded only five goals against at 5-on-5 in its last eight contests.

“You can see the system is working,” says Caps captain Alex Ovechkin. “Obviously our goaltending has played very solid. We are blocking the shots, and we play smart in our [defensive] zone.”

When Washington last visited here two weeks ago, the Senators entered the game just a point shy of eighth place and the final Stanley Cup playoff berth in the Eastern Conference standings. Including their overtime loss to the Capitals that night, the Sens are 4-2-1 since, and that has been enough to lift them from ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings to sixth.

Ottawa has also moved ahead of both Tampa Bay and Boston and into third place in the Atlantic Division standings as it seeks its first postseason berth since 2017, when it fell to Pittsburgh in double overtime of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final series. The Sens’ current points percentage of .560 is the team’s highest in any season since that last playoff appearance following the 2016-17 season, in which the Sens finished with 98 points, a .598 points percentage.

The Sens have been parked in idle since last Sunday when they earned a 3-1 victory over the visiting Utah Hockey Club here. Ottawa is 7-2-1 in its last 10 games, and it is 4-0-1 in its last five home games, with the overtime loss to Washington on Jan. 16 the lone blemish on their home record over that span.

The Sens have won each of the first two games of their four-game homestand that concludes on Saturday when Minnesota pays a visit.