Courtesy: Zimbio.com
WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals are riding home high as they are set to face a tough Western Conference opponent in the St. Louis Blues Sunday evening.
This is going to be yet another litmus test for the Capitals as the Blue find themselves 2nd in the tough Central division with 29 points. St. Louis is 13-2-3 on the season heading into this contest, while the Capitals are 11-8-1. Just two regulation losses for the Blue means the Capitals will have to grind out a tough one at home and play every shift like it’s their last.
It will be a battle of quality offenses as the Blues find themselves atop the NHL offensive statistics with 3.5 goals-per-game. Washington is eighth in that category with 3.0. The Capitals will also be facing the only power play better than theirs as they are 2nd in the league with a 24.4 power play percentage; St. Louis is first with a 25.8% success rate.
Defensively, the Blues are one of the better teams in the league as they are eighth in goals-allowed-per-game with 2.3; the Capitals are 20th with 2.9. The numbers for the Blues can also be attributed to the stellar goaltending efforts of Brian Elliot and Jaroslav Halak for the Blues. Not to take anything away from what Braden Holtby and Michael Neuvirth have done for the Capitals, but they face more shots and therefore give up more optimal scoring chances for opponents due to the lack of defensive consistency.
If the Washington Capitals are going to come out of Verizon Center with a win Sunday evening, they must stop the NHL’s scoring leader Alexander Steen and take advantage of an average penalty kill for the Blues.
This is going to be a low-scoring affair for the Capitals and the game will probably play out much like Washington’s game against the Minnesota Wild earlier this month. St. Louis is a hard team to create offense against and they use their size to try and outsmuscle opponents. Washington traditionally doesn’t fair all well against teams like this as the New York Rangers come to mind as a team that gives the finesse players of the Capitals some serious frustration.
Washington’s task of stopping the Blues, especially Steen, will be that much more difficult as defenseman Mike Green will miss his second straight game due to a lower-body injury. Green suffered the contusion Nov. 12 against the Columbus Blue Jackets and has been doing his best to regain his mobility during practice at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex. Head coach Adam Oates was hoping Green could fill the void, but he will have to rely on his forwards’ backchecking abilities today more than he has in the past. It’s nothing against the abilities of the Capitals defensively, but any help they can receive in odd-man rushes is crucial.
Green missing action for a second game will also affect a struggling Capitals power play that is just 3-for-21 in its last five games. Defenseman John Carlson will have to be up to the task once again and as he has for most of the season as he will be asked to step into Green’s role once again as the go-to blue-liner. The Blues are 14th on the penalty kill and while that isn’t bad because they play disciplined hockey and solid defensively, it may be the one area where the Capitals have a window of opportunity that they must seize when the chances are there.
Notes: Jaroslav Halak will start in net for the Blues and Braden Holtby for the Capitals. The lines for the Capitals will be the same as they were in Detroit where Washington pulled out a shootout victory 4-3. St. Louis is 8-1-1 in their last 10 games; Washington is 6-3-1.
