Abel to Yzerman

Abel to Yzerman

Detroit/Washington Preview And Notes

01/10/2015 at 11:35am EST

via Brian Hedger at NHL.com,

Season series: The Detroit Red Wings scored three goals in the third period at Verizon Center to win the first game against the Washington Capitals, two by forward Justin Abdelkader. The three-game series will conclude at Joe Louis Arena in the final week of the regular season.

Red Wings team scope: Detroit won back-to-back games Tuesday and Wednesday during a six-game road trip, but returned home to spend two off days, including practice Friday. Goalie Jimmy Howard will start. The Red Wings placed forward Johan Franzen on injured reserve Thursday with an upper-body injury and second-year forward Tomas Jurco is out with a disc problem in his back. Rookie forward Teemu Pulkkinen was recalled from the Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League on Friday to help out. Pulkkinen, who had the most goals in the AHL (20), skated with center Riley Sheahan and forward Drew Miller during practice. "He just seems to be a player who scores and has scored his whole life," coach Mike Babcock said. "So, is he ready to score in the NHL? We're always looking for goals and if he can score, we're happy to have him … plus, he's a right-hand shot."

Capitals team scope: Goalie Braden Holtby will make his 18th consecutive start and 24th straight appearance. His near total domination of playing time led to a couple transactions Friday. Backup goalie Justin Peters, who's made one start since Nov.15, was loaned to the Hersey Bears of the AHL for a conditioning stint to sharpen his game. Rookie Pheonix Copley was recalled from Hersey to be Holtby's backup against Detroit. Holtby, who took the overtime loss Thursday at the Philadelphia Flyers, isn't wilting with the extensive workload. "I think that's one of the benefits I've had of playing in the [AHL]," he said after the game in Philadelphia. "You play every game up here and it's not nearly as hard as playing every two to three down there. Players play 82 [games], so it shouldn't be an excuse for a goalie. I like to play. I'd play every game if I could. But as long we're being successful, that's all I care about."

TEAM STATS
GP RECORD HOME ROAD L10 G/GP GA/GP PP% PK% PIM/GP S/GP SA/GP FO%
Detroit Red Wings 41 22-10-9 13-4-6 9-6-3 5-3-2 2.80 2.34 24.5 86.8 8.4 30.7 27.2 54.4
Washington Capitals 40 21-11-8 9-5-4 12-6-4 7-1-2 2.98 2.52 23.3 79.1 10.4 29.9 28.8 50.4

DETROIT RED WINGS

CURRENT INJURIES (total games missed; current injury length)

Jonas Gustavsson – Shoulder (27; 11/7-present)
Johan Franzen – Upper Body (8; 1/7-present)
Jakub Kindl – Elbow (4; 12/29-present)
Tomas Jurco – Back (1; 1/7-present)
Individual Man Games Lost: Stephen Weiss (13), Pavel Datsyuk (11), Justin Abdelkader (7), Brendan Smith (5), Kyle Quincey (4), Jimmy Howard (3), Danny DeKeyser (2)
Man Games Lost (Season Total): 87

THE MATCHUP

- Tonight is the 106th all-time meeting between DET and WSH
- Tonight marks the 2nd of 3 meetings this season between DET and WSH, 2nd of 2 in WSH
- DET’s all-time record vs. WSH: 47-40-16-2
- DET’s all-time road record at WSH: 22-24-5-1
- DET won the 1st meeting of the season at WSH on 10/29 by a 4-2 score: Nyquist, Abdelkader (2) and Datsyuk scored for DET; Kuznetsov and Brouwer scored for WSH)
- Brendan Smith has 3 points (0-3-3) in 4 games vs. WSH
- Pavel Datsyuk has 18 points (5-13-18) in 14 games vs. WSH
- Gustav Nyquist has 7 points (5-2-7) in 4 games vs. WSH
- Henrik Zetterberg has 11 points (5-6-11) in 12 games vs. WSH
- Stephen Weiss has 41 points (14-27-41) in 50 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
- 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 G Pheonix Copley was 18-28-7 with a 2.82 GAA and .906 SV% with the NCAA’s Michigan Tech Huskies from 2012-14
- 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
- WSH GM Brian MacLellan had six points (1-5-6) in 23 games with DET in 1991-92, his final NHL season

AMERICA’S FINEST

With a win on Tuesday at Edmonton, Jimmy Howard moved within two victories of tying Jon Casey for 10th all time in wins among American goaltenders.

LEAGUE LEADERS

Datsyuk: T21st with 15 goals, T24th with 5 PPG, T18th with 3 GWG, 18th with 55.2 faceoff %, T17th with 17.5 shooting %
Glendening: T8th with a 56.2 faceoff %
Howard: T11th with 16 wins, 4th with a 2.08 GAA, T9th with a .921 SV%, T13th with 2 SOs
Nyquist: T21st with 15 goals, T6th with 8 PPG, T18th with 3 GWG
Tatar: T17th with 16 goals, T27th with 5 PPG, T5th with 4 GWG
Zetterberg: T13th with 26 assists, T22nd with 36 points, 15th with 131 shots, T28th with a 53.2 faceoff %
TEAM: 4th with 2.33 goals against per game, 2nd on the power play at 24.5%, 4th on the penalty kill at 86.8%, 10th with 30.7 shots for per game, 4th with 27.2 shots against per game

RECENT/UPCOMING MILESTONES

- Kronwall stands 18th in franchise history with 250 assists after picking up a helper on 1/6 at EDM, passing Nick Libett
- Franzen played in his 600th NHL game on 1/6 at EDM
- Zetterberg played in his 800th NHL game on 1/7 at CGY
- Weiss is two games away from his 700th NHL game
- Glendening is three games shy of 100
- Nyquist is 3 goals away from 50

WASHINGTON CAPITALS

INJURIES/ILLNESSES

Dmitry Orlov, missed 40 games (10/9-1/8)
John Erskine, missed 35 games (10/22-1/8)
Aaron Volpatti, missed 35 games (10/9-12/9, 12/29-1/8)
Brooks Laich, missed 15 games (10/22-11/4, 11/8-11/26)
Mike Green, missed eight games (10/9, 11/26-12/9)
Tom Wilson, missed seven games (10/9-10/18, 11/11-11/14)
Liam O’Brien, missed five games (11/14-11/22)
Jay Beagle, missed five games (10/9-10/18)
Total Man-Games Lost: 150

TONIGHT’S GAME

The Washington Capitals host the Detroit Red Wings at Verizon Center on Saturday in the second of three meetings between the teams this season (at WSH: Oct. 29, Jan. 10; at DET: April 5). Washington is 25-22-5-0 all-time at home against Detroit. Saturday marks the beginning of a three-game home stand for the Capitals.

Series Notes

-- Washington has won four of its last five home games against Detroit (4-1-0).
-- The Capitals have posted a 5-2-1 record in their last eight games against the Red Wings.
-- Washington has outscored Detroit 26-19 in the teams’ last six meetings.

NOTE OF THE NIGHT

Five Straight for No. 8 – Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin scored a power-play goal on Thursday at Philadelphia, extending his goal streak to five games (12/29-1/8: 5g, 3a). Ovechkin’s five-game goal streak marks his longest since he scored a goal in five consecutive games during the 2012-13 season (3/17/13-3/24/13: 6g, 3a). Ovechkin has earned 15 points in his last 14 games (12/9-1/8: 9g, 6a) and leads the NHL in shots (193), ranks tied for second in power-play goals (9), tied for fourth in goals (21), fifth in hits (140) and tied for fifth in the League in game-winning goals (4).

TOP FIVE CAPS FACTS

Saturday Night Delight – Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby appeared in his 23rd consecutive game on Thursday at Philadelphia, passing Wayne Stephenson (22) for the Capitals franchise record for consecutive games played by a goaltender. In his last 23 games, Holtby has posted a 14-4-5 record with two shutouts, a 2.25 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage. Holtby ranks tied for third in the NHL in shutouts (3) this season, tied for eighth in wins (19), 11th in save percentage (.920) and 12th in the League in goalsagainst average (2.31). The Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, native has started a career-high 17 consecutive games for the Capitals and has posted an 11-2-4 record with two shutouts, a 2.21 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage during that span. Holtby is 25-8-3 in his career on Saturday with eight shutouts, a 2.03 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage.

O from D – Capitals defensemen Mike Green (2a) and Karl Alzner (1a) each earned an assist on Thursday at Philadelphia, marking the 10th consecutive game a Washington defenseman has tallied a point. Washington ranks third in the NHL in points by defensemen (91) this season, trailing Calgary (104) and Nashville (103). Capitals defensemen combined to record 140 points last season, ranking tied for 22nd in the NHL.

Beasts of the East – Washington has posted a 16-6-5 record against Eastern Conference opponents this season. The Capitals have earned a point in 16 of their last 18 games against conference foes (11-2-5) and have outscored their opponents 58-43 during that span. The Capitals are 9-2-4 against the Metropolitan Division this season and has outscored division opponents 48-33.

Clipping the Wings – Alex Ovechkin has recorded 16 points (9g, 7a) in 12 career games against the Red Wings, Nicklas Backstrom has registered nine points (2g, 7a) in nine career games and Mike Green (3g, 5a) and John Carlson (2g, 6a) have each tallied eight points in seven career games against Detroit. Jason Chimera (22) and Joel Ward (17) have both tallied more points against Detroit than any other NHL team.

Caps 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.

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