The Washington Capitals (8-8-2) continue their three-game homestand on Monday night. They are set to host the Los Angeles Kings (10-5-4) at Capital One Arena.
The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. ET.
The Capitals are still in a slump, which continued with a 3-2 shootout loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
The Capitals yielded two goals to New Jersey early on, including one on the power play. However, Connor McMichael and Alex Ovechkin tied it up at 2-2 to force overtime and then a shootout. New Jersey came away with the victory though.
This loss marked the second time this season where the Capitals outscored the opposition at 5-on-5 but didn’t win the game. The team is now 7-1-1 in those situations.
The last time the Capitals won consecutive games was Oct. 21-24, as they’ve lost eight of their last 10 games after starting the season 6-2-0.
The Capitals have come close to winning games they should’ve won. They’ve either been even or within a goal in the third period of nine of their 10 losses.
In terms of injuries, defenseman John Carlson missed Saturday’s game due to an upper-body injury. Carlson remains a game-time decision for Monday, but if he plays, it will mark his 1,106th game with the Capitals. That would move him past Nicklas Backstrom with 1,105 games played with the team.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles has fared much better recently as the top team in the Pacific Division. They’re also riding on a four-game winning streak.
Los Angeles has also been far better on the road (9-1-2) than at home (1-4-2). They enter their fifth of their six-game road trip, coming off victories in Pittsburgh, Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa.
Expected Capitals Lines
Forwards
Connor McMichael – Dylan Strome – Alex Ovechkin
Aliaksei Protas – Justin Sourdif – Tom Wilson
Anthony Beauvillier – Hendrix Lapierre – Ryan Leonard
Brandon Duhaime – Nic Dowd – Ethen Frank
Defensemen
Martin Fehervary – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Jacob Chychrun – Matt Roy
Rasmus Sandin – Declan Chisholm
Goalie
Charlie Lindgren
Expected Kings Lines
Forwards
Joel Armia – Anze Kopitar – Adrian Kempe
Kevin Fiala – Quinton Byfield – Alex Laferriere
Warren Foegele – Phillip Danault – Trevor Moore
Jeff Malott – Alex Turcotte – Corey Perry
Defensemen
Mikey Anderson – Brian Damoulin
Joel Edmundson – Brandt Clarke
Jacob Moverare – Cody Ceci
Goalie
Darcy Kuemper
How to Watch
TV: Monumental Sports Network
Radio: 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio Network
Harry Lichtman is an award-winning journalist who covers the Washington Capitals for Sportsnaut. He also contributes to the sites … More about Harry Lichtman