Courtesy: Washington Post
The Washington Capitals are currently riding a four-game winning streak and are looking to grab their 10th win of the season as they face the 11-4-2 Phoenix Coyotes Saturday night.
Both teams enter the contest winning seven of their last ten as the Coyotes are 7-2-1 and Capitals 7-3-0 respectively and are two of the hottest teams in the NHL at this stage of the season. Washington will be on the road for three of their next four contests and have only amassed a 3-4-0 record in games away from Verizon Center, so it will be key to grab two points from a quality team in Phoenix.
As far as what the Capitals have to do in order to win?
Simple… score goals by putting the pedal to the metal and the foot on the gas.
Phoenix has averaged a staggering 3.8 goals-per-game at home this season and have gone 7-0-1 in the process. Washington has to keep themselves out of their own zone and not focus so much on puckwatching and rather focus on forechecking and backchecking each and every shift. Puck possession and having more than one shot per possession is sometimes the best defense to keep the Phoenix Coyotes offense at bay.
As far as the goalies go, Washington will start Michael Neuvirth in the first back-to-back road contests for the Capitals. He is boasting a 2-2-0 record with a 2.79 GAA and a .913 save percentage. Neuvirth has filled in nicely in relief of Braden Holtby as there hasn’t been a dropoff from No. 1 to No. 2. Although his record doesn’t indicate just how good he has been, it’s more of a reflection on the Capitals’ struggling defensive efforts and their inability to prevent shots from coming toward the netminder. Washington plays in their own zone entirely too much and it’s due to the fact that they don’t possess the puck enough in center ice and maintain the possession after an initial shot.
Phoenix will be sending Mike Smith between the pipes as he faces the Capitals for the first time since 2010 during his tenure with the Tampa Bay Lightning. In his career, he is a staggering 0-6-0 with a 5.03 GAA against Washington, but obviously, things are different this time around in Phoenix. Smith is 9-3-2 in 2013-14 with a 2.87 GAA and a .915 save percentage. The change of scenery has been just what the doctor ordered for Smith as he has been viewed as one of the better goalies in this league.
The thing to watch in this game is both teams’ depth from line one to four. Phoenix has eight different players with at least ten points this season, while Washington has just six. They have been paced by the 20 total points of center Nicklas Backstrom (5 G, 15 A) and the 19 from captain Alexander Ovechkin (13 G, 6 A). One of the more surprising absences this season for Washington has been their ability to score goals from the blue line with Mike Green. While he has nine assists this season, Green is playing at his best when he is lighting the lamps. He has had to shoulder the load of young guy Nate Schmidt and pick up some of his slack and maybe, it is affecting his play. However, it seems like only a matter of time before his scoreless drought ends and when it does, I would like to see him paired up with defenseman John Carlson as his shot has been hitting the net more than in years past.
