The Washington Capitals have found a solid, early-season rhythm that might provide enough momentum to halt their recent struggles against the Minnesota Wild.
Looking for a fourth consecutive victory, the Capitals host the Wild on Friday night.
Washington opened the season with a 3-1 home setback to Boston, then won the next three. The Capitals rallied twice from a goal down to overcome Tampa Bay, 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday.
A year ago, Washington also dropped its season opener, then won five in a row.
“It’s tough to win a game in this league,” said Washington’s Jakob Chychrun, who scored 1:19 into overtime Tuesday.
“It’s just nice to continue to build some confidence. … We’re just trying to keep pushing and never be satisfied.”
Chychrun has four points on the young season, while Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin has posted two assists, but hasn’t added to his NHL-record 897 goals thus far. It marks the second time in three seasons that Ovechkin failed to register a goal in his first four contests.
Ovechkin has 20 goals with 18 assists in 25 career games versus Minnesota. However, the Wild are 7-0-1 in their last eight games against the Capitals.
Minnesota star Kirill Kaprizov has not recorded a point in any of his four games versus Washington, but enters this contest with four goals and five assists through the first four games of the season.
Kaprizov posted a goal with an assist during Tuesday’s 5-2 loss at Dallas.
“We’re still going through it,” said Wild coach John Hynes, whose team has split the first four games of the season.
Minnesota is a stellar 10-for-21 on the power play through those four games, but has not scored a 5-on-5 goal in any of the last three contests.
“It’s not for a lack of offensive zone time, it’s not for a lack of shots, it’s not for a lack of opportunities,” Hynes said about that recent drought.
“I think we just got to stay with it. If there was no offensive pressure, then I think it would probably be a little bit more concerning.”
Kaprizov and Matt Boldy have combined for seven power-play goals for the Wild.
Meanwhile, Minnesota’s Filip Gustavsson has a 3.06 goals-against average while losing two of his three starts this season. However, he’s 3-1-0 with a 2.72 GAA and .912 save percentage versus Washington for his career.
Backup Jesper Wallstedt made 31 saves during Minnesota’s 4-3 shootout victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.
Washington’s Logan Thompson has stopped 70 of the 76 shots he’s faced while 2-1-0 to open the season. Teammate Charlie Lindgren, though, could soon see the net again after he stopped all 35 shots during the Capitals’ 1-0 road win over the New York Rangers on Sunday.
Coming off his breakout 30-goal, 36-assist 2024-25 season, Washington’s Aliaksei Protas has three goals with two assists to begin this campaign. However, he has not registered a point in six career games against the Wild.
–Field Level Media
