Game #34
Caps (20-7-6, 46 points) at Colorado Avalanche (19-10-6, 44 points)
They’ve hit a rough patch here lately with two losses and an overtime win over the NHL’s worst team. Yet the Caps still have the league’s best overall record heading into a three-game road trip that will test them: at Colorado – the second-best team in the Western Conference – and then on to western Canada for back-to-back games against Vancouver and Edmonton on Friday and Saturday night.
Jose Theodore is expected to start in goal for Washington tonight against one of his former teams. The Avalanche are the league’s biggest surprise. It was supposed to be a rebuilding year after the retirement of legendary forward Joe Sakic. From 1996 to 2006 the Avalanche made the playoffs every year, won two Stanley Cups and reached the Western Conference finals four other times. But they’d missed the playoffs two of the last three years as their dynasty wound down.
And yet here they are again with a fine record and plenty of intriguing young talent. Top scorer Paul Stastny (8 goals, 26 assists) is just 23. Wojtek Wolski (13 goals, 20 assists) is also 23. Craig Stewart (7 goals, 14 assists) is 22. And a pair of 18-year-olds – Matt Duchene and Ryan O’Reilly – not only made the team, they are producing. Duchene was the No. 3 pick in last June’s draft and already has nine goals and 10 assists. O’Reilly has four goals and 13 assists. Both have seen their play dip at times as the grind of an NHL schedule wears on them. But that crop gives Colorado a pretty bright future.
Meanwhile, the Avs signed free-agent goalie Craig Anderson to stabilize that position. The Caps know him well from his days with the Florida Panthers. Anderson has allowed 13 goals in five career starts against Washington. He is 16-7-5 with a .920 save percentage (10th in NHL) and a 2.57 goals-against average (19th). According to the Denver Post, the Avalanche could be without forwards Milan Hejduk (knee) and Marek Svatos (groin). They are listed as doubtful for tonight’s game. Hejduk, especially, is a big loss. The 33-year-old veteran has 12 goals – second-most on the team – and eight assists. Forward David Jones is likely done for the season after an ACL tear Nov. 28. The 25-year-old was another part of the young corps in Colorado with 10 goals in just 23 games.
