On Wednesday, the Detroit Red Wings visit the Washington Capitals for an NHL preseason matchup. Detroit will be playing its sixth game of the preseason when visiting Washington. Thus far in the preseason, Detroit Is 2-3 with four points and is tied for third in the Atlantic division preseason standings. The Red Wings were defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 in their most recent game.
Detroit is expected to battle for a playoff position this year. Detroit added several veterans during the offseason such as Andrew Copp, Ben Chiarot, Olli Maatta and Dominik Kubalik, but the most intriguing acquisition was David Perron from St. Louis. Goaltender Ville Husso has joined Detroit and will share duties with Alex Nedeljkovic. Moritz Seider is back from a Calder Trophy season and Lucas Raymond returns as the third leading scorer from last season.
Washington has played four games of its preseason schedule with two wins and two losses and four points at 2-1-1. The Capitals have defeated Detroit and Philadelphia, while losing to Buffalo and Columbus. Washington's most recent outing resulted in a 2-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on the road. Washington out shot Columbus 33-20 but could put only two shots past Columbus netminder Elvis Merzlikins.
Washington added several key players during the offseason such as goalie Darcy Kuemper, center Dylan Strome, right-wing Hunter Brown and defenseman Gabriel Carlsson amongst others. Goalies Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov are no longer with Washington along with defenseman Justin Schultz. Alex Ovechkin returns and the 36 year old veteran will continue to chase Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal scoring record.
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Washington Capitals