The Washington Capitals look to extend their NHL-lead in points when they visit the Anaheim Ducks Monday night. The Capitals lead the NHL in wins (48-13-4) and in points with 100. Meanwhile, the Ducks are in the midst of an NHL best 12 game win streak which has helped propel them to the top of the standings in the Western conference. Anaheim is 18-1-1 in its last 20 games and it carries an 12-game winning streak into Monday’s game with the Capitals. The Ducks’ current winning streak is the longest in franchise history and a game shy of the longest in the league this season.
Season Series
The two teams have not yet played this season but they played twice last season. The Capitals swept the two games from the Ducks in 2014/15. The first game was a 3-2 shootout victory at Verizon Center on February 6th, 2015. The second one occurred just a few days later as the Capitals defeated the Ducks once more, this time by a score of 5-3. In the two games the Capitals were led by captain Alex Ovechkin's and Andre Burakovsky's two goal performances.
Tonight's game is the first meeting between these teams this season. The second game will be in Washington on April 10th.
Capitals Look to Remain Hot
Washington became the first NHL team to reach 100 points. The Capitals defeated the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Saturday night in overtime. Goalie Braden Holtby got the night off but is expected to start tonight after backup goaltender Philipp Grubauer played one of his better games in his career as he made 33 saves against Boston. Defenseman Matt Niskanen, who scored the game-winning goal against the Bruins, has five goals in 65 games this season. He has scored the game-winner in each of Washington's past two W's.
The Capitals will play the remaining three of their West Coast road trip in California against the top three teams in the Pacific Division. They start with the Ducks then visit the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday followed by the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.
Both Goalies Look to Continue Their Succsess
The Capitals could have trouble scoring tonight, as Frederik Andersen is 12-0-2 with a 1.76 goals-against average in his last 14 starts. Andersen is one of the biggest reasons the Ducks are back in the position they are after a bad start to the season. He's also posted a 1.33 GAA in six straight home games.
As for the Caps, their goalie has been just as good, if not better. Braden Holtby the NHL wins leader, is coming off a 20-save effort in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers, but overall this season he is still 40-8-3 with a 2.24 Goalies Allowed Average and a .922 save percentage.
Prediction
Overall this should be a good, hard-fought hockey game. The Capitals last few weeks have had all games resulting in one goal finishes. I expect this to be the same with the Capitals coming out on top, ending the Ducks long win streak.
Capitals 3, Ducks 2
