The Vegas Golden Knights will look to reproduce their complete 60-minute effort from Thursday’s 4-1 win in Vancouver when they host the Washington Capitals tonight at T-Mobile Arena.
The statement victory was the second game in a row in which Vegas scored four goals after being held to three total goals in their previous four.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak (0-2-1), and it was a team-wide effort from the first puck drop. All four lines were clicking, particularly the top line with Jack Eichel, Ivan Barbashev and Mark Stone.
After playing eight of the last nine games on the road, the Golden Knights will play six of the next eight at home, where they’ve gone 8-2-1.
The Capitals are coming off back-to-back wins against the Kings and Ducks after falling 2-1 to San Jose early last week. Washington is 7-2-1 in its last 10 games, and five of its last six contests have been one-goal games.
Much like the Golden Knights, the Capitals enter tonight’s tilt with momentum.
Most recently, Washington defeated Anaheim 5-4 thanks to Tom Wilson’s first career hat trick. Significantly, the Capitals finally snapped their drought on the power play, which had lasted for 12 games. Statistically, the Capitals still have the worst power play in the NHL at just 8.5 percent efficiency, but they went 2-for-6 on the man-advantage in Anaheim, with both tallies coming off Wilson’s stick.
The Capitals have struggled to score this season. In fact, they rank 31st with an average of just 2.45 goals per game, though they have allowed 2.75 goals per game, good for eighth overall. Prior to their five-goal breakout against the Ducks, Washington had scored just three combined goals in their previous three games.
This will be the second and final meeting between Vegas and Washington this season. The clubs squared off less than three weeks ago at Capital One Arena.
The game — a 3-0 decision — came one day after Vegas’ visit to the White House and was the first of five games on an extended Eastern Conference road trip (which Vegas finished 2-2-1). It marked the first time the Golden Knights were shut out in 2023-24, as Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren turned aside all 35 shots he faced, including multiple breakaways.
The Golden Knights had plenty of chances, holding a 15-4 edge in high-danger chances, but were thwarted by Lindgren at every turn.
Dylan Strome scored at 16:39 of the first period to give Washington a 1-0 lead; that proved to be the game-winner. It was a 1-0 game most of the way, but Connor McMichael scored an empty-net goal at 19:11 of the third. Washington followed that up with a Beck Malenstyn breakaway goal with 33 seconds remaining.
Logan Thompson stopped 28 of 30 shots for a .933 save percentage.
The loss came down to the play of Lindgren as well as Vegas’ execution, or lack thereof.
The Golden Knights are 8-3-0 all-time against the Capitals; Washington is 0-4-1 all-time in the regular season at T-Mobile Arena.
Tonight’s matchup
Vegas Golden Knights
Overall record: 15-5-4
Last 10 games: 4-3-3
Home record: 8-2-1
Goals for: 3.13 (18th)
Goals against: 2.38 (2nd)
Power play: 21.2 percent (13th)
Penalty kill: 86.3 percent (6th)
Points leaders: Eichel (9-15—24), William Karlsson (11-11—22), Stone (6-14—20)
Goals leaders: Karlsson (11), Eichel (9), Jonathan Marchessault (9)
Washington Capitals
Overall record: 12-6-2
Last 10 games: 7-2-1
Road record: 5-2-1
Goals for: 2.45 (31st)
Goals against: 2.75 (8th)
Power play: 8.5 percent (32nd)
Penalty kill: 81.0 percent (14th)
Points leaders: Alex Ovechkin (5-9—14), John Carlson (1-12—13), Wilson (7-5—12)
Goals leaders: Strome (8), Wilson (7), Ovechkin (5), McMichael (5), Anthony Mantha (5)
In the crease
Golden Knights
Logan Thompson — Record: 5-3-2 | GAA: 2.49 | SV%: .916 | SO: 0
Thompson won both meetings against the Capitals last year. He has 4.23 goals saved above average and 7.26 goals saved above expected this season, which rank 16th and 12th, respectively.*
Capitals
Charlie Lindgren— Record: 5-2-0 | GAA: 2.30 | SV%: .934 | SO: 1
UPDATE: Lindgren is under the weather; Darcy Kuemper will start for Washington.
Lindgren has 6.65 goals saved above average and 9.85 goals saved above expected, good for seventh and fifth, respectively.*
*Among goalies with at least five starts
Keys to the game
Stick to the game plan: The Golden Knights put all the pieces together in a dominant showing Thursday night in Vancouver, and they will need to do the same tonight against the Caps. Vegas was shut out by Washington just a few weeks ago, but beating Thatcher Demko four times could be the confidence boost this team needed. Perhaps most notably, Vegas needs to continue to go to the net.
Simply special: Special teams may be a factor tonight against the Capitals. For one thing, the Capitals finally extinguished their 12-game streak without a power-play goal the other night in Anaheim. Washington’s power play has been abysmal all year, but the Capitals have confidence coming into tonight’s game; allowing that confidence to blossom is an unnecessary risk for Vegas. Paul Cotter took a major penalty the last time these teams met; giving Washington ample opportunities due to undisciplined play could put the Golden Knights in an uphill battle, no matter how well the penalty kill has performed.
On the flip side, the Vegas power play was particularly listless when these teams met Nov. 14. Adjustments have since been made, but the Golden Knights need to diligently enforce those changes and simplify their game. Hesitation is deadly on the power play; getting pucks to the net, using lateral passes and setting screens will be key. The power play was a significant factor for Vegas last December, as the club set a franchise record for most power-play goals scored in a single month with 14.
Projected lineups
Golden Knights
Ivan Barbashev — Jack Eichel — Mark Stone
Paul Cotter — William Karlsson — Jonathan Marchessault
Brett Howden — Chandler Stephenson — Michael Amadio
William Carrier — Nicolas Roy — Keegan Kolesar
Ben Hutton — Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb — Kaedan Korczak
Nicolas Hague — Zach Whitecloud
Logan Thompson
Adin Hill
Injured: Shea Theodore, Alec Martinez
Capitals
Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson
Sonny Milano — Dylan Strome — Hendrix Lapierre
Aliaksei Protas — Connor McMichael — Anthony Mantha
Beck Malenstyn — Nic Dowd — Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Martin Fehervary — John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin — Trevor van Riemsdyk
Joel Edmundson — Nick Jensen
Darcy Kuemper
Charlie Lindgren
Injured: T.J. Oshie, Max Pacioretty, Nicklas Backstrom
How to watch
Game 25: Golden Knights vs. Capitals
When: 7 p.m. PT
Where: T-Mobile Arena — Las Vegas, NV
TV: Scripps
Radio: Fox Sports 98.9 FM
Statistics courtesy of NHL.com, Natural Stat Trick, Evolving Hockey
(Photo of Anthony Mantha, Alex Pietrangelo: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports)