The Washington Capitals face the Nashville Predators with both teams looking to improve from rough starts to the season. The Capitals have a 4-4 record while the Predators have a 3-4-1 record with their recent win snapping a five-game losing streak. The Capitals are looking to improve in the Metropolitan Division while the Predators hope to make up ground in the Central Division and the upcoming game should be a good one as a result.
The Capitals have shown promise this season with their offense stepping up and scoring 3.13 goals per game. Alexander Ovechkin and Dylan Strome have combined for four goals and eight assists to lead the top line but the rest of the offense has also stepped up Conor Sheary, Lars Eller, and T.J. Oshie have contributed eight goals and seven assists while defensemen John Carlson and Nick Jensen have added three goals and eight assists from the blue line help elevate the offense.
The offense has stepped up but the defense has let the Capitals down, allowing 3.25 goals per game. Nick Jensen and Dmitry Orlov have led the top pairing but the rest of the unit has struggled, allowing opponents to find open shots on the net at will. The bright spot has been the play of goaltender Darcy Kuemper who has a .903 save percentage and a 2.89 goals-against average on 176 shots.