The Washington Capitals face a tough challenge in their quest for a fifth straight home win when they host the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.
Washington, which will play four of its next five games at Capital One Arena, has an impressive 12-4-2 record at home this season.
On the other hand, the Wild have the best road record in the NHL at 13-3-3. They have won three of their last four games, including a 5-3 victory over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
The Capitals, meanwhile, earned their fourth win in their last six games with a 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.
“There’s going to be points throughout the year where you’re grinding,” said Washington defenseman Jakob Chychrun, who scored a goal and has 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in his last 17 games.
“It’s just finding ways of picking each other up if we don’t have our best stuff. We’ve got guys in here who have won and played a long time in this league. You lean on those guys in those moments, and this group is always sticking together and pulling in the same direction, and I think you see it. It’s evident that the boys love each other in this room.”
Aliaksei Protas scored two goals, and Logan Thompson made 26 saves to improve to 15-2-2 on the season.
Washington captain Alex Ovechkin saw his goal-scoring streak end at four games. This run had followed a long absence due to a broken left leg. The three-time Hart Trophy winner now has 870 career goals, just 25 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record.
Ovechkin has 37 points (19 goals, 18 assists) in 23 career games against the Wild.
Despite Ovechkin’s personal success against Minnesota, the Wild have been strong recently, going 5-0-1 in their last six meetings with the Capitals.
In their win on Tuesday, Minnesota’s Marco Rossi scored two goals and added an assist, while Mats Zuccarello and defenseman Jonas Brodin each had one goal and one assist. The Wild went 3-for-6 on the power play.
“Yeah, I thought it was a really good effort,” said Wild coach John Hynes. “When it comes down to it, both special teams were really good, goaltending was excellent, and … the competitive nature of our team (on Tuesday) was at the level you need to win consistently. So, I really give the guys a lot of credit. (They) dug in and found a way to win.”
Kirill Kaprizov, who leads the Wild in goals (23), assists (27), and points (50), is dealing with a lower-body injury and was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday.
Captain Jared Spurgeon, a defenseman, is expected to have an MRI after being injured in a slew-foot by Nashville’s Zachary L’Heureux, who took Spurgeon’s legs out from under him and sent him into the boards.
Minnesota is expected to call up defenseman Carson Lambos from the American Hockey League’s Iowa Wild. The first-round pick from the 2021 NHL Draft could make his NHL debut if he steps onto the ice.
