The Washington Capitals face the Detroit Red Wings with both teams looking to improve from rocky starts to the season. The Capitals have a 5-4-2 record and with back-to-back overtime losses, have fallen to the bottom of the Metropolitan Division while the Red Wings have a 4-3-2 record and are looking to rebound from an 8-3 loss. Both teams are looking to bounce back in the Eastern Conference to start the season and the upcoming game should be a good one as a result.
The Capitals have shown promise this year but they hope the offense improves, scoring only 2.91 goals per game with only four goals in their last two games. Alexander Ovechkin and Dylan Strome have scored seven goals and 11 assists to lead the top line but the rest of the offense has struggled. The hope is that Lars Eller and Anthony Mantha can step up as they have only scored five goals and four assists but play a pivotal role on the top two lines.
The offense has let the Capitals down but the defense has stepped up, allowing only 2.82 goals per game. Nick Jensen and Dmitry Orlov have combined for 1.7 defensive point shares and 36 blocked shots to lead the top pairing but the rest of the offense has also stepped up with Martin Fehervary, Trevor van Riemsdyk, and John Carlson combining for 1.3 defensive point shares and 52 blocked shots to add depth to the unit. Moreover, goaltender Darcy Kuemp er has stepped up in the net with a .922 save percentage and a 2.39 goals-against average on 145 shots.