TEAM SNAPSHOTS
BLUES Debuting their all-new Reverse Retro sweaters, the St. Louis Blues kick off a three-game homestand on Thursday following a successful road trip.
After weathering an eight-game losing streak, the Blues have now won four in a row and are starting to once again resemble the team that took the eventual champions to six games during last year's Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"The guys are really trying to fight for wins," said Ivan Barbashev, comparing this recent stretch to the club's earlier struggles. "You can see a big difference right now in the locker room."
The Blues are coming off an impressive win in Chicago, pouring in highlight goals to win it 5-2. Calle Rosen, Ryan O'Reilly with the team's first shorthanded goal of the year, Tyler Pitlick with his first as a Blue, Jordan Kyrou and Barbashev each put their stamp on the rivalry win.
The Blues will have played their seventh game in 11 nights when they host Washington at Enterprise Center, keeping up a dense schedule after their inconsistent pace to start the year. The homestand concludes with a pair of games against the young Anaheim Ducks before the Blues hit the road for another three-game trip.
Entering Thursday's game, the Blues have a record of 7-8-0, worth 14 points and now seventh in the Central Division.
CAPITALS The Washington Capitals have been facing some adversity, losing seven of their last nine games as they wrap up a three-game road trip in St. Louis.
Injuries have played no small part in these struggles, with Washington currently missing contributors Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie and Tom Wilson - among others. Last season, those three combined for 107 points, but they have only seen nine games of action this year in total - all from Oshie, the former Blue.
A key acquisition for the Capitals this offseason was goaltender Darcy Kuemper, taking over the net fresh off a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche.
Alex Ovechkin continues to pursue history in his 18th NHL season, off to a strong start after an impressive 90-point season at age 36. Ovechkin leads the Capitals in goals (8) and points (14) this season, recently breaking the NHL record for most goals with a single team set by Gordie Howe.
Washington comes to St. Louis with a record of 7-9-2, worth 16 points and sixth place in the Metropolitan Division as of Wednesday afternoon.
HEAD-TO-HEAD The Blues went a perfect 2-0 against Washington a season ago with a 10-3 goal differential in those games. Over their last five matchups, the Blues are 4-0-1, and are 2-0-1 in their last three at home.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Ivan Barbashev, who scored on a breakaway and recorded two points in the win over Chicago. After a slow start to the season, Barbashev has four points in his last five games.
CAPITALS Alex Ovechkin, who sits 12 shy of becoming the third player in NHL history to reach 800 goals. In 22 career games against the Blues, Ovechkin has 18 goals and 13 assists.
BLUE NOTES
The Blues are 3-1-0 this season when leading after the first period, and 4-0 when leading after the second... Ovechkin trails Gordie Howe by 13 goals for No. 2 on the NHL's all-time goals leaderboard... The Blues are one win shy of matching the NHL record for longest win streak following an eight-game losing streak... The Blues finished 2-0 during the first-ever Moms' Trip, matching the strong play from previous years' Dads' Trips (7-1-1).
After pulling out of their season-threatening slump, the St. Louis Blues will try to keep Washington from doing the same when they host the Capitals on Thursday.
The Blues have stabilized by winning four straight games after suffering eight consecutive regulation losses, a team record. The injury-depleted Capitals come into the game in St. Louis with just two victories in their past nine games (2-5-2).
"We got a real hungry team coming in here (Thursday)," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said after the Blues handled the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 on Wednesday to cap a 3-0-0 road trip. "They're going to be desperate, so it will be a tough game, a real tough game."
After producing just one point in his first 10 games this season, Blues captain Ryan O'Reilly has three goals and three assists in his past five contests, including a goal and an assist on Wednesday. He has been playing with wingers Josh Leivo, a recent recall from the AHL, and Brandon Saad.
"I think we fit, our roles in the game," Leivo told Bally Sports Midwest. "A lot of working. ... We've been finding each other down low and capitalizing on our chances, which has worked so far and we'd like to keep it going."
Jordan Binnington has been in goal throughout the Blues' winning streak, but Thomas Greiss (0-3-0, 3.78 goals-against average) is likely to start against the Capitals in the second of back-to-back games.
St. Louis defenseman Colton Parayko is questionable for the Washington game after missing Wednesday's game due to an undisclosed injury. Tyler Tucker made his NHL debut in Parayko's place and finished with an even rating in 11:05 of ice time.
The Capitals have struggled while dealing with injuries to defenseman Dmitry Orlov and forwards T.J. Oshie, Connor Brown, Tom Wilson, Nicklas Backstrom and Carl Hagelin.
Washington applied more offensive pressure in its latest game, a 5-2 road loss to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday. The Capitals put 43 shots on goal, including 22 in the third period.
"The last two periods were better than in the first," said Capitals center Dylan Strome, who scored a goal. "I think we had our chances to score, but just a couple bad breaks and the puck ends up in the back of our net. With the rut we're in right now, that's kind of the way it's been going.
"We've got to find a way to get going and start getting some wins."
The Capitals opened the Florida game with Sonny Milano playing on the top line with Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Coach Peter Laviolette shuffled his lines and tried Aliaksei Protas in the top group at even strength.
Washington is also looking to jump-start its power play, which has fallen into a 0-for-21 slump.
"Just obviously not good enough," Strome said. "It's our job to go out there and at least get momentum. I feel like on the first couple, we didn't even do that. It wasn't great (Tuesday) on the power play, same as the last couple of games.
"And now it's on us to figure it out. Power play is a huge part of the game. They get a power-play goal tonight and we don't, and that could have made the difference."
