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GAMEDAY: Capitals at Maple Leafs
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GAMEDAY: Capitals at Maple Leafs
7 p.m., Scotiabank Arena
TV: TSN RADIO: Sportsnet 590
THE BIG MATCH-UP
C William Nylander v RW Alexander Ovechkin
Replacing the injured Nazem Kadri in the lineup as a centre puts Nylander in the spotlight with the league’s top trigger man. Ovie has something to prove, too. Despite his 67 points in 47 games against the Leafs, Toronto has won both games in the series this season against the Stanley Cup champs. The Great Eight warmed up with two goals in a win over Los Angeles in Monday.
KEYS TO THE GAME
1. TRADE NOISE
The Leafs are down to two games before the NHL trade deadline, the Caps three, amid weeks of rumours the latter want to move young left winger Andre Burakovsky for veteran depth elsewhere. Toronto’s truculence, to revive a Brian Burke term, will be under scrutiny in their second game of the week against a physical foe.
2. HOME STRETCH
After a six-game road trip, in which the club showed some schizophrenia depending on the venue, the Leafs are back at SBA for four straight. Will Mike Babcock remember what to do with last line change? Kadri, by the way, had a hat trick and four-point game the last time the clubs met so he’ll be missed.
3. SILENT PARTNERS
Mitch Marner and John Tavares were blanked in Arizona and St. Louis as the Leafs’ trek ended, just the fourth time that’s happened to both in consecutive games all season. There was concern too about Auston Matthews after a tepid game in Glendale and a tough night against the the Blues — until he asserted himself around the net in the third period and scored the tying goal.
4. A-TOM BOMB
Tom Wilson, who got a thrill Wednesday to see he and his teammates honoured in his hometown at the Hall of Fame, is at a career-high 15 goals, in addition to plowing the field for Ovechkin.
5. THIRD AND LONG
Though they nearly pulled it off in St. Louis, the Leafs are still sitting with just one win when trailing after two periods. That of course is in stark contrast to a perfect mark of 28-0-0 when up after 40 minutes.
MAPLE LEAFS GAME DAY LINES
LW C RW
Zach Hyman John Tavares Mitch Marner
Patrick Marleau Auston Matthews Kasperi Kapanen
Andreas Johnsson William Nylander Connor Brown
Par Lindholm Frederick Gauthier Tyler Ennis
DEFENCE PAIRINGS
Morgan Rielly Ron Hainsey
Jake Muzzin Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Gardiner Travis Dermott
GOALIES
Frederik Andersen
Garret Sparks
SICK BAY
C Nazem Kadri (concussion)
CAPITALS GAME DAY LINES
Alex Ovechkin Evgeny Kuznetsov Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana Nicklas Backstrom T.J. Oshie
Andre Burakovsky Lars Eller Brett Connolly
Chandler Stephenson Nic Dowd Travis Boyd
DEFENCE PAIRINGS
Michal Kempny John Carlson
Dmitri Orlov Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik Christian Djoos
GOALIES
Braden Holtby
Pheonix Copley
SICK BAY
None
SPECIAL TEAMS
POWER PLAY
Toronto 21.1% (13th)
Washington 21.6% (12th)
PENALTY KILLING
Toronto 81.5% (11th)
Washington 78.4% (22nd)
Thursday NHL preview: Washington Capitals at Toronto Maple Leafs
By Mark ZwolinskiSports Reporter
Wed., Feb. 20, 2019
SCOTIABANK ARENA
FACEOFF: 7 p.m.
/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/sports/leafs/2019/02/20/thursday-nhl-preview-washington-capitals-at-toronto-maple-leafs/ovechkin_dermott.jpg)
Alex Ovechkin of the Capitals tries to work past Leafs defenceman Travis Dermott when the teams met in January. Ovie’s Caps play at Scotiabank Arena again on Thursday night. (Richard Lautens / Toronto Star file photo)
TV: TSN
RADIO: Sportsnet 590 The FAN
KEY PLAYERS
Ovechkin/Matthews
Alex Ovechkin leads the NHL in goals with 42, including a pair of on the power play in the Capitals’ 3-2 win over Los Angeles on Monday. It marked the 20th time Ovechkin has scored twice in one game with the man advantage. He has reached the 40-goal plateau 10 times. Leaf Auston Matthews has a six-game point streak going, and leads the NHL in goals per game over the past three seasons.
NEED TO KNOW
The Capitals are 6-3-1 in February after a tough January in which they finished the month 0-4-2 … They have seven players with 10 or more goals, including But the Capitals remain a strong scoring threat, with seven players in double digits in goals, including Jakub Vrana and T.J. Oshie with 18 apiece … Defenceman John Carlson reached the 300-assist mark Monday. He’s just the third Caps blue-liner (Calle Johansson, Scott Stevens) and 20th American-born defenceman to do it. Carlson ranks fifth in the NHL in average ice time (25:17) and has been on the ice for 71 goals at five-on-five, second only to the Leafs’ Morgan Rielly (72) … Washington blue-liner Michal Kempny, a bargain pickup from the Blackhawks at last year’s trade deadline, continues to earn top-four minutes.
UP NEXT Home to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday at 7 p.m.
