Jan. 18 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins at Capital One Arena
Time: 7:00 p.m.
TV: MNMT
Radio: 106.7 THE FAN, Caps Radio 24/7
Pittsburgh Penguins (19-20-8)
Washington Capitals (30-10-5)
In their final home game prior to their longest road trip of the 2024-25 season, the Caps host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night at Capital One Arena. Saturday’s game is also the Caps’ lone Metropolitan Division matchup in a span of 14 games and 32 days.
The Caps carry an 11-game home ice point streak (8-0-3) into Saturday’s game, and they also bring a nine-game overall point streak (6-0-3) into the contest. The latter streak is the longest current streak in the NHL, and it matches the Caps’ longest of the season to date (8-0-1 from Nov. 25-Dec. 14).
Washington’s home ice point streak is its longest since 2016-17, when it established the franchise record of 17 straight games (16-0-1 from Dec. 23, 2016-March 4, 2017).
Thursday night in Ottawa, the Caps won their third straight game with a 1-0 overtime victory over the Senators, one in which they struggled through the first 40 minutes. Logan Thompson notched a second straight shutout, and Alex Ovechkin pulled a goal closer to Gretzky (874-894) with the 27th overtime game-winner of his NHL career.
With the help of a power play drawn by Rasmus Sandin early in the third period, the Caps’ attack awakened and put a dozen third-period shots – one more than they managed in the game’s first 40 minutes – on Sens goalie Leevi Merilainen, who also entered the game after recording a shutout in his previous start.
Ovechkin took a slick feed from Sandin on a 2-on-1 rush in the extra session, and the Caps captain fired it past Merilainen to send Washington home with a pair of points. Merilainen becomes a footnote to history; he is the 179th goaltender Ovechkin has scored against during his 20-year NHL career, more than any other player in NHL history. Jaromir Jagr (178) was the previous record holder.
“Just the accolades and the different parts of this record are going to be about a 10-page essay on this,” says Caps coach Spencer Carbery of Ovechkin’s latest exploits. “So, most goalies, yeah, it’s not surprising. He’s got [the record for most] empty netters, you just continue to check boxes on his remarkable career and scoring on different guys, and in different buildings, and against every team. It’s remarkable what he’s doing.”
It’s also remarkable what Thompson has been doing. With another in a growing series of stalwart starts, Thompson was the reason the Caps even had a chance to bring home a pair of points at the start of the third of Thursday’s game. He stopped all 24 shots he faced – including several from the slot or from in tight – to win his eighth start in succession.
Over his last three starts, Thompson has stopped 76 of 77 shots (.987 save pct.) he has faced. He improved to 20-2-3 on the season with Thursday’s victory, and became the first Caps goalie in over three years to notch consecutive shutouts. Thompson will carry a shutout streak of 146:53 into his next appearance, the 13th longest in franchise history.
In winning his last eight starts, Thompson is 8-0-1 with two shutouts, a 1.48 GAA and a .948 save pct. in nine appearances (since Dec. 18) and he is tied for the League lead in victories over that stretch. He has permitted two or fewer goals in 16 of his last 20 starts dating back to Nov. 2, going 16-2-3 with a 1.92 GAA and a .933 save pct.
Thompson and Charlie Lindgren – who is eligible to come off injured reserve for Saturday’s game after suffering an upper body injury against Montreal on Jan. 10 – have both been excellent all season, but the Caps’ defense has also done a remarkable job of late. They’ve defended more than they’d like to, but they’ve done it capably and successfully.
In the 11 games the Caps have played since the NHL’s annual holiday break, they’ve forged a 7-1-3 record. And their average of 2.00 goals against per game over that stretch is tied for second best in the League over that stretch.
“The big thing for us is it’s not just us six defensemen that need to defend,” says Sandin. “We’re defending as a unit, together with the forwards, and I think that’s where we’ve taken really big steps this year. We’re working together as a unit, we’re trying to communicate and trying to help each other more in the defensive zone and get out of there.
“We’ve defended a little bit too much now lately, but still came out with points, which is obviously a strength itself. But we’ve still got a ways to go.”
After taking on Pittsburgh on Saturday, the Caps depart on Sunday for a five-game, 12-day trip. As for the Penguins, they’re finishing up a set of back-to-backs and trudging through a lengthy trip of their own, a seven-game, 13-day journey.
The Penguins opened the road trip with a bang on Friday night in Buffalo, belting the Sabres 5-2 on the strength of a historic virtuoso performance from goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic. Nedeljkovic was tremendous at his day job, stopping 40 of 42 shots to pick up the win. But he also became the first goaltender in NHL history to record a goal and an assist in the same game.
Midway through the second period, Nedeljkovic picked up the secondary apple on a Cody Glass power-play goal, and the eventual game-winner. With 2:42 left in the third – and with Buffalo having scored with its goaltender pulled earlier – Nedeljkovic settled a puck behind his net and shot his shot, from behind the goal line at his end to the middle of the net. Forty saves, a goal and an assist is likely to be a distinction Nedeljkovic shares with no other netminder at the NHL level for a long time.
Friday’s win also helps the Pens’ playoff hopes, and the remainder of the trip should show how serious those chances are. Pittsburgh is only three points south of the final Eastern Conference playoff berth, but they’re 13th in the East, so the number of competitors is more daunting than the points.
The Pens prevailed over Washington here in DC on Nov. 8 in the only previous meeting between the two teams this season, taking a 4-2 decision behind 32 saves from rookie goaltender Joel Blomqvist, who is the likely starter for the Pens on Saturday.
