Cody Eastwood takes you inside the Verizon Center for the morning skate Thursday.
Daryl Reaugh talks power in this pre-game video preview. Enjoy.
The Stars have had great success against the Washington Capitals, winning seven straight and going 19-2-3, dating back to 1996. One of the big reasons is their ability to control Alex Ovechkin.
The big winger has eight points (five goals, three assists) in 10 career games against the Stars and is minus-3 in that stretch. Meanwhile, Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen is 15-6-2 in his career against the Capitals with a 2.58 GAA and .923 save percentage.
"We have to make sure there is a second wave of defense for (Ovechkin)," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "It isn't solely one-on-one all of the time. He's going to make some great plays, some great individual plays, so we need that added help. Because, physically, he can dominate."
The Stars won't get to pick the match-ups on the road, but with Alex Goligoski and John Klingberg leading the Stars in time on ice, you can bet Dallas' smallest defensive duo will get plenty of head-to-head action. Goligoski is listed at 5-11, 185 and Klingberg at 6-2, 180. Ovechkin is listed at 6-3, 239.
"He's a big powerful, athletic guy. It's always a challenge against him, you've got to keep your eye on him and keep him to the outside, because he's going to get his shots," Goligoski said.
Ovechkin leads the NHL in shots on goal with 88 in 16 games and is third in shots that miss the net with 33. He has eight goals and eight assists on the season, but has not scored a goal in his last four games. He currently has 483 career goals and is tied with Sergei Fedorov for most NHL goals for a Russian-born player.
Goligoski said he and Klingberg have to be smart.
"We're obviously not going to defend big strong players as if we were big strong players," he said. "It's having a good stick and keeping yourself in good position and trying to frustrate them by giving them no time."
The Stars are hoping to get their chances on the power play. They rank first in road power play at 36.0 percent (9 for 25) and were successful against the Capitals last season. But Washington is in the middle of a strange statistical scheduling anomaly for the Stars. The Capitals rank fourth in fewest times shorthanded at 48 in 17 games. The three teams ahead of them? Carolina, Minnesota and Buffalo. The Stars played Minnesota and Buffalo before this and play Buffalo at home Saturday. That might be one reason Dallas has seen its power play opportunities decreased this season. The Stars ranked second in the league last season at 290 (3.53 per game) and sit 18th this season at 58 (3.05 per game).
"There's been a little bit of a swing with some clubs. Even with us, we're not getting as many chances as we have in the past," Ruff said. "Sometimes, that's the respect the other team is showing toward you when you're power play is going well. They don't want to take any chances and take any penalties."
The Capitals (12-4-1) beat The Red Wings, 2-1 in overtime in Detroit Wednesday and did not skate in the morning. Braden Holtby had 26 saves in the win and is 10-4-0 with a 1.94 GAA and .922 save percentage. However, the Capitals have been playing back-up Philipp Grubauer on the second night of back-to-backs. He is 2-0-1 with a 2.59 and .899.
Maybe the biggest issue will be getting shots to whichever goalie is in net. Washington ranks second in the NHL in shots on goal against at 25.2. Dallas ranks second in shots on goal at 31.6 per game.
"This game is getting tough to score," Ruff said. "Teams are really doing a good job of packing it inside, and you have to work hard to get those shots through and look for those second opportunities. If you just repeat the right things, sooner or later you'll get a bounce and the puck will end up in the right place and then you have to put it away."
Here are the expected lineups:
Dallas:
Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Patrick Sharp
Antoine Roussel - Cody Eakin - Valeri Nichushkin
Mattias Janmark - Jason Spezza - Patrick Eaves
Colton Sceviour - Vernon Fiddler - Ales Hemsky
Alex Goligoski - John Klingberg
Washington:
Alex Ovechkin - Evgeny Kuznetsov - T.J. Oshie
Marcus Johansson - Nicklas Backstrom - Andre Burakovsky
Jason Chimera - Jay Beagle - Justin Williams