from Brendan Savage of Mlive,
Mike Babcock isn't certain what to expect from the Washington Capitals tonight.
Sure, the Capitals have many of the same players back from last season, when they split the season series against Detroit as each team got four points. And Babcock has watched a couple of Washington's games this season on tape.
But the Capitals also have a new look after adding defensemen Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik - who both came over from Pittsburgh - as well as rookies Andre Burakovsky and Liam O'Brien to their lineup.
All have played key roles in helping Washington start the season 4-2-2 as it prepares to host Detroit.
But two things Babcock and the Red Wings are plenty familiar with are the Caps' leaders - head coach Barry Trotz and longtime captain Alex Ovechkin.
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Preview of the Washington/Detroit game from Mike Vogel of Dump 'n Chase,
Two days after returning from a three-game journey through western Canada, the Capitals make a quick stop home to host the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night at Verizon Center. The game against the Wings concludes the October portion of the Capitals’ 2014-15 campaign.
Washington and Detroit feature identical 4-2-2 records at this early juncture of the season. So far in the early going, the Caps have yet to lose consecutive contests. They’ll need a win over the Wings to keep it that way.
The Capitals spend Monday in the air, flying back from Vancouver where they suffered a 4-2 loss to the Canucks on Sunday night. The Caps come home from their first extended road trip of the season with a 1-2 mark on the three-game journey through western Canada.
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DETROIT RED WINGS
THE MATCHUP
- Tonight is the 105th all-time meeting between DET and WSH
- Tonight marks the 1st of 3 meetings this season between DET and WSH; 1st of 2 in WSH
- DET’s all-time record vs. WSH: 46-40-16-2
- DET’s all-time road record at WSH: 21-24-5-1
- DET was 1-0-2 vs. WSH in 2013-14 and was outscored 13-12
- DET’s top scorers vs. WSH in 2013-14: Gustav Nyquist (4-1-5 in 2 GP), Johan Franzen (2-1-3 in 1 GP) and Danny DeKeyser (2-1-3 in 3 GP); WSH was led by John Carlson (1-4-5 in 3 GP), Joel Ward (3-1-4 in 3 GP), Alex Ovechkin (2-2-4 in 3 GP) and Jason Chimera (2- 2-4 in 3 GP)
- Pavel Datsyuk has 16 points (4-12-16) in 13 games vs. WSH
- Gustav Nyquist has 6 points (4-2-6) in 3 games vs. WSH
- Tomas Tatar has 3 points (1-2-3) in 3 games vs. WSH
- Jonas Gustavsson made his NHL debut on 10/3/09 with TOR at WSH
- Niklas Kronwall had his first NHL point (assist) on 12/13/03 at WSH
- Danny DeKeyser has 3 points (2-1-3) in 3 games vs. WSH
- Stephen Weiss has 41 points (14-27-41) in 50 games vs. WSH
- Henrik Zetterberg has 9 points (5-4-9) in 11 games vs. WSH
- WSH’s all-time leading scorers vs. DET: Jason Chimera (7-15-22 in 42 GP), Alex Ovechkin (9-7-16 in 11 GP), Joel Ward (10-6-16 in 23 GP) and Troy Brouwer (3-8-11 in 21 GP)
- WSH F Tom Wilson had 91 points (35-56-91) in 125 games for the Plymouth Whalers from 2010-13
- WSH D John Carlson won a gold medal with Brian Lashoff with the USA at the 2010 WJC
- WSH D Mike Green was drafted with the pick (29th overall) that DET traded to WSH with F Tomas Fleischman for F Robert Lang on 2/27/04
- WSH G Justin Peters was 19-15-0 with a 2.75 GAA and .921 SV% with the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers in 2005-06
- WSH head coach Barry Trotz was the NHL’s longest-tenured head coach until this summer (15 seasons with NSH); Mike Babcock now holds the title at 10 seasons
UPCOMING MILESTONES
- Helm is 1 GP shy of 300
- Franzen is 2 goals shy from tying Sid Abel at 184 for 18th in DET history
- Zetterberg is 2 assists away from 450
THIS DATE IN RED WINGS HISTORY
Oct. 29, 1944 – Ted Lindsay makes his NHL debut as the Red Wings defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 7-1.
Oct. 29, 1947 – Gordie Howe wears No. 9 for the first time as the Red Wings defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2.
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
Series Notes
-- Washington has won four consecutive home games against Detroit (1/31/09-2/2/14).
-- The Capitals have posted a 5-1-1 record in their last seven games against the Red Wings.
-- Washington has outscored Detroit 24-15 in the teams’ last five meetings.
Cap Connections
– Capitals assistant coach Lane Lambert was selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the second round, 25th overall, in the 1983 NHL Draft. Lambert appeared in 176 games with the Red Wings from 1983-86, registering 65 points (36g, 29a) and 349 penalty minutes.
Clipping the Wings
– Alex Ovechkin has recorded 16 points (9g, 7a) in 11 career games against the Red Wings, Nicklas Backstrom has registered nine points (2g, 7a) in eight career games, Mike Green has earned eight points (3g, 5a) and John Carlson has tallied seven points (2g, 5a) in six games against Detroit. Jason Chimera (22) and Joel Ward (16) have both tallied more points against Detroit than anyother NHL team.
Holt-beast
– Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby stopped 20 of 21 shots on Oct. 25 against Calgary to earn his third win of the season. Holtby has posted a 3-1-1 record this season with one shutout, a 1.92 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage. With his win Saturday, Holtby passed Jose Theodore (62) for seventh place on the Capitals’ franchise wins list. The 6’2”, 208-pound goaltender has posted a 2-0-0 record against the Red Wings in his career.
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