Follow me @sportmajor
NHL goal leader Alex Ovechkin and the 23-10-3 Washington Capitals will make their second visit to Ottawa in a week to take on the 15-19-4 Senators who are playing the second end of a back-to-back coming off a 6-3 loss last night vs the Islanders. The Caps came away with a 4-0 shutout win last Saturday in a game where Pheonix Copley recorded his 1st career shutout. They continue to lead the Metro Division by two points over Columbus but have played two fewer games.
Winners of three games in a row and 15 of their last 18, Washington is starting to look like the team that captured the Cup last spring. In their last game vs Carolina on Thursday night, Braden Holtby held strong as he is the hottest goalie in the league since November 6th in both GAA and SV%. John Carlson had 2 points to break a 4-game pointless streak in the 3-1 win.
Defenseman Matt Niskanen was injured in the game on a scary play and will not play tonight though he is traveling with the team. The hit into the boards looked horrifying and many, including myself, thought he would be seriously injured when you first saw it.
How did Matt Niskanen get up and skate off the ice under his own power from this hit? Yikes. pic.twitter.com/e36LmGNksa
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) December 28, 2018
Ottawa Goaltender Marcus Hogberg will be in the net tonight as the 24-year-old Sweden native gets his first start in the NHL against the defending Stanley Cup Champs. The Senators 3rd round pick in 2013 is off to a solid season in AHL Belleville this year compiling a record of 3-3-0 and a save percentage of .916% in 8 games played. It’ll be tough for the rookie goalie in his first game playing for a team that gives up a lot of shots to face a Capitals squad deep in scoring.
Pheonix Copley will get the start for Washington as Holtby takes a deserved break. Copley is filling in quite nicely after the loss of backup Phillip Grubauer in the summer. He has won his last 4 starts giving up a total of 8 goals against and his overall 2.67 GAA and .912 SV% are healthy numbers from a back-up.
Now it’s Pheonix Copley in the starter’s net with defensemen taking point shots on him. Means he’ll start tonight. He had his first shutout here last week. https://t.co/RVVXzH7ui4
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) December 29, 2018
The lineup looks thinner on the backend so hopefully, Orpik is back soon and the Niskanen scare won’t be as bad as initially thought. Tyler Lewington will draw in for his 2nd NHL game and Madison Bowey will pair on the second line with Dmitri Orlov. Bowey has a great opportunity here to gain some more traction. Still looking for his 1st NHL goal he is playing better and I think it will come soon for him. He’s got offensive talent that is just waiting to be exposed.
Capitals expected lineup vs. Senators:
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) December 29, 2018
Ovechkin-Backstrom-Oshie
Vrana-Kuznetsov-Wilson
Burakovsky-Eller-Connolly
Stephenson-Dowd-DSP
Kempny-Carlson
Orlov-Bowey
Siegenthaler-Lewington
Pheonix Copley to start
Extras: Jaskin, Boyd
Injured: Niskanen
IR: Orpik, Djoos
Game time is 7 PM EST from the Canadian Tire Center in Kanata, Ontario.
Capital Gain:
Ovechkin ( and the Caps ) continue what is seemingly a nightly occasion for Caps fans around the league...
Washington Capitals fan reduced to tears after receiving puck from Ovechkin https://t.co/pIg08wxp9H
— HockeyTroll.ca (@Hockeytroll_ca) December 28, 2018