Caps Visit Stars in Dallas

Dec. 16 against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Arena

Time: 20:00

TV: MNMT

Radio: 106.7 FANEN, Kasketter Radio 24/7

Washington Capitals (21-6-2)

Dallas Stars (18-11-0)

Riding a four-game winning streak and an NHL season-long nine-game point streak (8-0-1), the Capitals open up a set of back-to-back games against the Stars in Dallas on Monday night. The short Central Division tour ends Tuesday night in Chicago against the Blackhawks.

Washington also carries a franchise-record 10-game road winning streak; they are one of only a dozen teams in NHL history to reach that rare level. The Capitals are 12-2-0 on the road, while Dallas is 12-3-0 at home. As it celebrates its 50th^th anniversary season, Washington has already surpassed its road win total for each of the first eight seasons of its NHL existence.

In their last three games in November, the Capitals made franchise history as they won three straight games, also giving up four or more goals in each. Since then they have been locked. For the first time in nearly six years, the Caps have put together five straight games with two or fewer goals against. They last achieved that feat from 19-29. December 2018.

Celebrating their “Coming Of Age” era (1982-97) Saturday night at Capital One Arena against the Buffalo Sabres, the Caps managed to hand the Sabers their ninth straight setback (0-6-3) with a 4-2- victory. of strong special teams performances. Tom Wilson scored a pair of power-play goals, and Washington killed both of Buffalo’s extra-man opportunities on the night.

But it was Dylan Strome’s redirect from a John Carlson feed slot that won it for Washington. Strome’s goal — the only 5-on-5 goal the Caps scored in Saturday’s game — snapped a 2-2 tie midway through the third, lifting Washington to just its second win in its last seven at home (2-3-2 ).

“Throughout the game we started to get away from driving pucks to the net and that gave them a little bit of momentum.” says Wilson. “And then later in the game we just figure it out and Johnny makes a heck of a play to Stromer to get the third. There’s definitely some scouting that goes into it and we knew it was going to be a forward and back fight. We probably gave them a little too much tonight, but we’ll find a way to get it done.”

In the Caps’ 2-1 overtime win over the Jackets in Columbus on Thursday, they also managed just one goal on 5-on-5. During their current nine-game point streak, the Caps have relied heavily on defense, goaltending and special teams. With just 16 goals at 5-on-5 in the nine games, they are tied for 24th in the NHL over that span (dating back to Nov. 25).

The Caps’ power play unit is clicking 33.3 percent over the nine games, fourth-best in the league over that stretch. And Washington’s penalty kill outfit ranks eighth with an 82.1 percent kill rate in those nine contests.

With three assists in Saturday’s game — his second three-assist game in three weeks — Caps defenseman John Carlson crept to within three points of the 700-point plateau for his NHL career. Carlson has three goals and 23 points in 29 games this season; he ranks 10th in league scoring among defensemen, and his 20 assists rank eighth among blueliners.

A month shy of his 35th birthday, arguably the best of the many standout defensemen to wear a Caps jersey over the past half-century is still going strong. Carlson still plays in every situation, still leads the team and among NHL leaders in ice time, and still consistently delivers outstanding performances on a nightly basis at both ends of the ice.

“That’s probably one of the most disappointing parts of him not representing Team USA (at February’s Four Nations tournament),” Caps coach Spencer Carbery said. “I just feel like there’s so much about John Carlson that goes unnoticed and flies under the radar. And unless you know him, or unless you’re his teammate or his coach, or unless you see it, you just can’t really understand the value of what he brings to the team on a daily basis.”

Carlson is now one point behind Hockey Hall of Famer Chris Pronger (698) for 31st on the NHL’s all-time defenseman record. Carlson would become the 31st blueliner to reach 700 points.

When the Caps and Stars met on October 17th in Washington, the Caps earned a 3-2 victory with a three-goal burst in the middle period. Wilson, Strome and Taylor Raddysh scored for Washington, while Charlie Lindgren stopped 22 of 24 Dallas shots on net to claim the victory.

For Dallas, Monday’s game against the Capitals starts the back half of a six-game homestand, the Stars’ longest of the season. They opened the long home stretch with a 6-2 win over Calgary last Sunday, but stumbled in a 4-1 loss to Nashville on Thursday, just their third home ice loss of the season.

Most recently, the Stars overcame an early St. Louis lead to take a 2-1 overtime decision over the Blues on Saturday night. Matt Duchene’s goal midway through the extra session put that game in the win column for Dallas.