The Washington Capitals, currently leading the Eastern Conference, will try to forget about their recent loss as they finish a back-to-back road trip.
The Capitals are heading to Chicago after losing 3-1 to the Dallas Stars on Monday, which ended their franchise-record 10-game road winning streak.
Before Monday’s loss, Washington had won four games in a row, outscoring their opponents 13-6. Despite only scoring one goal against Dallas, Dylan Strome managed to get on the scoreboard by tipping in a point shot from Jakob Chychrun in the first period.
Strome explained, “Try to get a high tip because it’s tough for the goalie to pick it up. We talk a lot about getting to the net. It’s kind of a give-and-take, if you can get to the net to screen the goalie or try to get a high tip. All of our ‘D’ gets their shots through, and that’s been a huge reason why we’ve scored this year.”
Capitals coach Spencer Carbery values his team’s effort, especially considering they’ve been without star forward Alex Ovechkin, who has been out for a month with a fractured left fibula.
Carbery said, “We need to continue to find ways to score on the interior… We’ve got to continue to work because those are hard goals to score, but they’re imperative goals to score. Imperative to score in this league, especially against good teams.”
The Chicago Blackhawks, who have won two out of their last four games, are looking for their second two-game winning streak of the season.
The Blackhawks have allowed eight third-period goals in the last three games, but they managed to prevent another loss when the New York Islanders’ Noah Dobson scored early in the third period on Sunday to tie the game at 3. Connor Bedard then scored the game-winner with 54 seconds left, and the Blackhawks added an empty-net goal for a 5-3 victory.
Blackhawks interim coach Anders Sorensen praised the team’s resilience. He said, “We did bend a little bit, and we were teetering a little bit, but give the guys a lot of credit. The composure on the bench was really good. A lot of young players kept their composure and kept making plays when the game was on the line.”
Bedard had a goal and an assist, giving him seven points (two goals, five assists) in the last five games.
Bedard credited Sorensen’s system and his own hard work for the team’s improvement. He said, “I feel like he’s been really good with me kind of one-on-one, helping me out.
And I think we’re playing a little more aggressive, which obviously benefits the offensive side. But, you know, obviously I like to think I can make plays and produce, and that’s what I want to do. But he’s helped me out a bit, for sure.”
Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno missed the Islanders game due to illness. Washington’s Andrew Mangiapane was also out on Monday for the same reason.
