After Connor Bedard and Marc-André Fleury, it is now Alex Ovechkin’s turn to come to the Bell Center. Things are not going the way we would like in Washington. The representatives of the American capital only won one victory in three games. Here are five things to look for when visiting the Capitals.
1. Hungry Ovechkin
Alex Ovechkin is still looking for his first goal of the season. If he doesn’t score tonight, it would be only the second time in his career that he has missed his first four games of the season. Further evidence that things are going badly is that he hasn’t made a single shot in his last two games. Unheard of for the man who is the shot leader in NHL history.
Getty Images via AFP
2. Discipline
Ovechkin’s specialty is scoring goals on the power play. That’s good because the Canadians are the most penalized team in the league. If the Habs give the Capitals seven or eight massive offenses like they did against the Blackhawks and Wild, Ovechkin will have fun.
3. Special Forces
It’s not just the numerical disadvantage that bothers the Canadian. This is also the case with numerical superiority. Martin St-Louis’ team has only converted one of their eleven chances since the start of the season. Already in training we sensed signs of impatience among the players.
Martin St-Louis: “We tend to focus too much attention on the negative. In Toronto we scored two goals on four power plays, but one of them was ultimately disallowed. Against Chicago we only got two massive attacks. Against Minnesota, we started by conceding two goals on the same power play, one of which was the result of poor diving. It turned our massive attack on its head.”
Photo agency QMI, JOEL LEMAY
4. Armia recalled
In the morning, Canadian Joel Armia called back. The Finn had been granted special permits before the start of the election campaign. He will not play against the Capitals tonight. However, with four games in six days starting Monday in Buffalo, it’s better to make sure rosters are as complete as possible. In four games with the Rocket, he scored four goals and provided one assist.
Martin St-Louis: “I’m happy for him. He went downstairs to have fun. He scored goals, he feels good. I think it will help him.”
Photo Martin Chevalier
5. A first match for Justin Barron
Due to Kaiden Guhle’s injury, Justin Barron will play his first game of the season. Last year, he had 15 points, including four goals, in 39 games with the Habs.
Justin Barron: “I’m excited. I can’t wait until tonight. I have a good level of confidence based on the games I played last season. I feel like I’ve played enough to feel comfortable.”
Photo Martin Chevalier
The Canadian’s expected lineup for tonight’s game
Caufield – Suzuki – Harvey Pinard
Pearson – Newhook – Slafkovsky
Anderson-Monahan-Gallagher
Pezzetta – Evans – Ylönen
Matheson-Savard
Xhekaj – Kovacevic
Harris Barron
Allen
Montembeault