Game 51 Hub: Washington Capitals @ Ottawa Senators

After a run of 14 games in 25 days where the Ottawa Senators only had more than one instance of multiple days off in a row, having three days off before today's game felt like an eternity. The Senators were able to stay home and wait for the Washington Capitals to arrive, who last played on Tuesday in Calgary (as they won 3-1). This is the second of three games the Senators will play against the Capitals, and Washington was just in Ottawa on January 16th as well. That game ended with Leevi Meriläinen essentially getting a shutout as he didn't allow a goal through 60 minutes, but unfortunately, they lost 1-0 in overtime.

The Capitals are playing in their fifth and final game of a road trip that included playing Western Canadian teams plus Seattle. They've had a surprisingly incredible season, leading the league with a 34-11-5 record. They also come into Ottawa red hot, going 7-1-0 over their last eight games. Despite having home-ice advantage, it's never easy facing the league's best team. However, Ottawa hung in with them two weeks ago. Here are the projected lines for the Senators:

It also appears that Anton Forsberg will be the starter:

This is what the Capitals lines were last game, with some changes potentially coming:

Game Notes:

• The Capitals are a strange team: based on their roster, I don't see how they're first in the league. However, Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren have been incredible this season, and that kind of goaltending is exactly what led to the Boston Bruins' amazing success in 2022-23.
• If the Senators get Logan Thompson at the other end of the ice, he's gone 6-0 with a .968 SV% over the past six games—so a repeat performance of two weeks ago isn't out of the question.
• Alex Ovechkin is of course a big player to watch tonight as he is just 20 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's goal record. He was the lone goal scorer two weeks ago and is still a big reason for their prowess.
• Pierre-Luc Dubois has been quite infamous this season for a few dirty extra-curriculars, so I'd circle him as someone to pay attention to after the whistle.
• It looks like Nick Jensen is out again today, which is a big blow for Thomas Chabot and the rest of the team. Luckily Nikolas Matinpalo has been serviceable on the third pairing, but it'll be interesting to see if he plays over Travis Hamonic or not once Jensen is healthy.
• Linus Ullmark is almost ready to return and might play on Saturday against the Minnesota Wild. He was a full practice participant on Wednesday, which is a great sign. With Forsberg playing well of late, I'm not sure what they'll do with three healthy goalies.
• Can Brady Tkachuk continue on a positive note after finally scoring on Sunday? He (and many others) will need to make up for lost time with better offensive performances.

Player Stats:

Team Stats: