The Washington Capitals (18-11-4) return home after a rough two-game road trip. They will host the Toronto Maple Leafs (15-11-4) at Capital One Arena on Thursday night.
The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. ET.
The Capitals are coming off two blowout losses to Winnipeg and Minnesota up north. The team gave up five goals in both games.
The Capitals were outscored 10-1 on the two-game road trip, with Jakob Chychrun scoring the team’s only tally on a 5-on-3 against Winnipeg.
Nevertheless, the Capitals have still had a strong month. The team has picked up points in 13 of 16 games (10-3-3) since Nov. 15.
However, the Capitals have now lost three straight (0-2-1) and four of their last five (1-2-2) games. The offense has been very worrisome as they haven’t been able to score on the 5-on-5.
The last time these two teams met was back on Nov. 28, the Friday after Thanksgiving. The Capitals prevailed with a 4-2 victory on home ice.
Since that loss, Toronto has heated up by collecting at least a point in seven of its last eight games (5-1-2). The Maple Leafs just finished a five-game homestand, beating Chicago 3-2 on Tuesday.
Expected Capitals Lines
Forwards
Anthony Beauvillier – Dylan Strome – Alex Ovechkin
Aliaksei Protas – Justin Sourdif – Tom Wilson
Connor McMichael – Hendrix Lapierre – Ethen Frank
Sonny Milano – Nic Dowd – Brandon Duhaime
Defensemen
Martin Fehervary – John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun – Matt Roy
Rasmus Sandin – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Goalie
Logan Thompson
Expected Maple Leafs Lines
Forwards
Mathew Knies – Auston Matthews – William Nylander
Nicolas Robertson – John Tavares – Easton Cowan
Dakota Joshua – Nicolas Roy – Bobby McCann
Steven Lorentz – Scott Laughton – Max Domi
Defensemen
Morgan Reilly – Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Jake McCabe – Troy Stecher
Simon Benoit – Henry Thrun
Goalie
Dennis Hildeby
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