COLORADO AVALANCHE NOTES:
UPCOMING GAMES
Date Opponent Time (MT) TV Radio
Sat, Nov. 19 at Washington 5 p.m. Altitude 92.5
Mon, Nov. 21 at Dallas 6:30 p.m. Altitude 92.5
Wed, Nov. 23 VANCOUVER 8 p.m. Altitude 92.5
Fri, Nov. 25 at Nashville Noon Altitude 92.5
Sat, Nov. 26 DALLAS 7 p.m. Altitude 92.5
LAST GAME – Nov. 17 (Colorado 3, Carolina 2 in OT – at PNC Arena)
Pavel Francouz made a career-high 46 saves and Artturi Lehkonen netted the overtime winner to give the Avalanche a 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh … Evan Rodrigues and Alex Newhook also scored for the Avs, who won for the fifth time in their last six games
SF: 15 SA: 48 PP: 1-3 PK: 4-4
• Francouz’s 46 saves were a career high, topping his previous best of 45 also set at PNC Arena in Carolina on Feb. 28, 2020
• Cale Makar logged a career-high 32:48 of ice time, the most by an Avalanche player in a regular-season game since Feb. 4, 2003, when Adam Foote played 34:33 at Boston
• Lehkonen’s overtime winner was the first of his career in the regular season … Of course he’s had two OT winners in the playoffs, both of which sent his team to the Stanley Cup Final
TONIGHT’S GAME
COLORADO at WASHINGTON
5:12 p.m. MT / 7:12 p.m. ET
Altitude / 92.5
TV: Marc Moser (play-by-play), Mark Rycroft (analyst), Kyle Keefe (reporter)
Radio: Conor McGahey
The Colorado Avalanche continues their three-game road trip tonight in Washington, D.C. against the Capitals … The Avs, who opened the trip with a 3-2 overtime win in Carolina on Thursday, will finish the trip on Monday night in Dallas … The Avs have won five of their last six games after starting the year 4-4-1.
AVALANCHE & CAPITALS
Tonight is the first of two meetings between the Avalanche and Capitals in 2022-23 … Washington won both matchups last season.
SCHEDULE vs. CAPITALS
Nov. 19 @ WSH
Jan. 24 vs. WSH
RECORD VS. CAPITALS
THIS SEASON 2021-22 ALL-TIME SINCE 1995-96
Overall: 0-0-0 Overall: 0-2-0 Overall: 33-45-11 Overall: 14-19-4
Home: 0-0-0 Home: 0-1-0 Home: 18-21-6 Home: 8-9-2
Road: 0-0-0 Road: 0-1-0 Road: 15-24-5 Road: 6-10-2
AVALANCHE / CAPITALS CONNECTIONS
Darcy Kuemper and Nicolas Aube-Kubel were both part of the Avalanche’s 2022 Stanley Cup championship team.
ALL HAIL CALE
Cale Makar has 198 career points (51 goals, 147 assists) in 193 career games and with two more will reach the 200- point mark faster than any defenseman in NHL history.
ALL HAIL PART II
Cale Makar ranks among the NHL’s top defensemen in scoring this season with 18 points (3g/15a) in 15 contests … Makar tallied his 50th career goal on Nov. 12 vs. Carolina, tying Paul Coffey (191 games) as the fourth-fastest defenseman to reach 50 goals in the modern era (since 1943-44) … Only Phil Housley (148), Ray Bourque (170) and Denis Potvin (185) did it in fewer games … Cale’s second marker that night stood as the game winner, his 14th career game-winning goal which leads all defensemen since 2019-20 (Victor Hedman is second with 11).
LET’S GO STREAKING
Artturi Lehkonen has a five-game point streak (3g/2a), tying his career high set Feb. 26–March 9, 2022.
RANTANEN FIRST STAR
Mikko Rantanen was named the NHL’s First Star of the Week for Nov. 7-13 … It marked the second straight week that a Colorado player has been honored, as Nathan MacKinnon was the NHL’s Second Star for Oct. 31–Nov. 6 … Rantanen had seven points (3g/4a) over two games last week, notching three points (2g/1a) in the victory over Nashville and four points (1g/3a) in a win over the Hurricanes … He currently leads the Avalanche in goals (11) and points (25), with his 25 points the most-ever by a Colorado skater through 15 team games.
IT TAKES TWO BABY
Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon rank 1-2 on the Avalanche with 25 and 24 points, respectively, placing both among the NHL’s top 10 … Heading into the weekend, MacKinnon’s 20 assists led the league, while Rantanen was tied for fifth in goals … Mikko’s 25 points are the most ever by a Colorado skater through 15 team games, while MacKinnon’s 24 are tied for the second most (Joe Sakic in 1995-96 and Rantanen in 2018-19 also had 24).
THAT’S THE POWER OF LOVE
Colorado is 18-for-49 (36.7%) so far on the power play, best in the NHL … The club finished with a 39.3 success rate (11-28) in October, the second-best mark in a single month since relocating to Denver (min 5 GP) behind only November 2018 (40.0%) … The Avalanche’s power play scored at a 32.8% clip during the 2022 playoffs, the highest rate on record (since 1977-78) by an NHL team that played at least 20 games … During the 2021-22 regular season, Colorado finished seventh in power-play percentage (24.0%) and led all teams in power-play goals (67) … It marked the Avalanche’s fourth top-10 finish in the last five seasons.
HOME COOKING
Mikko Rantanen has 20 points (9g/11a) in seven home games this season, tied with Erik Karlsson for the NHL lead heading into the weekend… He is the first skater to reach 20 points in seven or fewer home contests since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96 … Mikko has two or more points in six of his seven home outings, three or more points in five of the seven contests and has had three four-point games on home ice.
SIMPLY GEOR-GEOUS
Alexandar Georgiev is 7-2-1 through his first 10 starts with the Avalanche, ranking among the league leaders in wins… Georgiev, who was 7-1-1 in his first nine outings, became the third goaltender in franchise history with seven wins prior to his 10th appearance with the club, joining Dan Bouchard in 1980-81 (8-1-0 in 9 GP) and Andrew Raycroft in 2008-09 (7-1-0 in 9 GP) … Going back to last year with the Rangers, Georgiev is 15-3-1 in his last 20 games (19 starts).
GETTING OFFENSIVE
Colorado ranks among the NHL’s top-10 teamsin scoring at 3.53 tallies per game … The Avs set a record for the most goals in a two-game Global Series with 11 in Finland against the Blue Jackets earlier this month … Colorado averaged a league-best 4.25 goals/game during the 2022 playoffs, the highest by an NHL team that played at least 10 games in a postseason since 1988 (Edmonton 4.67, Detroit 4.31) … The Avalanche finished fourth in the NHL with 308 goals (3.76 per game) during the 2021-22 regular season, surpassing the 300-mark for only the second time since relocating to Denver (326 in 1995-96).
D-LIGHTFUL
Colorado’s defensemen have combined for 46 points (8g/38a) this year, second most in the NHL heading into the weekend … The Avs defense produced 64 goals last season, a franchise record and the most by any team since the 1992-93 Capitals (94) … The Avalanche’s blueline also lead all teams in points with a franchise-record 238, the most since the 1995-96 Red Wings had 240 … Colorado’s defensemen finished with 69 points (18g/51a) during the playoffs, the most by any blueline in a four-round postseason since the 1984-85 Oilers (77).
CLIMBING THE FRANCHISE RECORD BOOKS
Nathan MacKinnon needs four assists to tie Milan Hejduk (430) for fifth place on the franchise’s all-time assist list and needs two goals to tie Gabriel Landeskog (248) for sixth place in goals … Mikko Rantanen needs two goals to tie Matt Duchene (178) for ninth place on the franchise goals list … With a pair of assists on Monday against St. Louis, Cale Makar passed Rob Blake (146) for seventh place among franchise defensemen in career assists with 147 … Makar’s two-goal effort in the Nov. 12th win over Carolina marked his 50th career multi-point game, passing JohnMichael Liles for the third most by an Avalanche/Nordiques defenseman behind Sandis Ozolinsh (63) and Tyson Barrie (57) … MacKinnon appeared in his 651st career regular-season game on Nov. 12 against Carolina, passing Anton Stastny (650) for sole possession of 10th place on the franchise’s all-time games played list … Erik Johnson played his 660th game as a member of the Avalanche on Oct. 22 in Las Vegas, passing Cody McLeod (659) for eighth place on the franchise’s all-time games played list.
FINNISH FIREWORKS
Led by Nathan MacKinnon’s seven combined points (0g/7a) and Mikko Rantanen’s hat trick in the opener, the Avalanche swept the two-game NHL Global Series from the Blue Jackets earlier this month, out-scoring Columbus 11-4 … Colorado’s six goals in the 6-3 opening win set an NHL record for a single game outside of North America while the 11 combined goals were also the most over a two-game overseas series … Rantanen’s hat trick was just the third outside of North America in NHL history, while MacKinnon’s four helpers that first night set a record for the most assists in a single game outside of North America … Alexandar Georgiev started and won both games, allowing just four goals 71 shots (2.02 GAA, .944 Sv%) … His two victories already equal the record for career wins in games played overseas… MacKinnon’s seven assists and eight career points (he had one goal in the 2017 Global Series in Sweden) are both NHL records for games played outside North America
BACK-TO-BACK
The Avalanche have played four of their 13 back-to-back games so far, going 2-2-0 in the first game and 2-2-0 in the second … The Avalanche posted a 15-5-2 (.727) combined record in back-to-back games last season, the second-best mark in the NHL behind only Minnesota (.732, 19-6-3) … The Avs finished 7-3-1 in the first game and 8-2-1 in the second (.773), with only Tampa (10-0-2, .917) posting a better record in the second half of a back-to-back.
SCHEDULE NOTES
The Avs will play 26 games against their division foes, meeting Arizona, Dallas, Nashville, St. Louis Winnipeg four times each (two home/away) and Chicago (two home/one away) and Minnesota (one home/two away) three times apiece … Colorado will play 24 games versus the Pacific Division (three times each) and 32 against teams from the Eastern Conference (one home/away).
BEST SINCE 2019-20
The Avalanche are 146-57-20 (.700) since the start of the 2019-20 season, the most wins, points and best points percentage in the NHL … Only Tampa (49) has more playoff wins during that span
MOST WINS SINCE 2019-20 POINTS % SINCE 2019-20 PLAYOFF WINS SINCE 2019-20
Colorado 146 Colorado .700 Tampa Bay 49
Boston 143 Boston .689 Colorado 32
Tampa Bay 140 Carolina .670 NY Islanders 25
Florida 139 Florida .665 Vegas 23
Carolina 138 Tampa Bay .662 Montreal 19
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH; AVS WIN STANLEY CUP
The Avalanche won their third Stanley Cup championship in 2022 following 1996 and 2001 … Colorado claimed its title by going 16-4 in the postseason, which included a pair of sweeps and defeating the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning in six games during the Final … The Avs became the sixth team to win a Cup with four or fewer postseason losses since 1987 when the NHL went to four rounds of best-of-seven … And of those six only one team had fewer losses, the 1988 Oilers (two) … The Avalanche did not lose consecutive games all playoffs
TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT
The 2021-22 Avalanche posted their best home season in franchise history with a 32-5-4 record (68 points) … Colorado tied Florida for the league lead in home points, ending with the most home points in the NHL for the second straight season after tying Penguins for league lead with 46 in 2020-21 … The Avs are just the third team over the last 30 years to post the league’s best home record in back-to-back seasons (outright or tie), joining the 2016 and 2017 Capitals and the 2007 and 2008 Red Wings … Colorado went 30-3-3 over its final 36 contests at Ball Arena … The Avs posted an 18-game home winning streak from Nov. 11–Jan. 30, the fifth longest run in NHL history … The club had a franchise record 22-game home point streak (20-0-2) from Oct. 30–Feb. 10, the NHL’s longest since 2013- 14 (Anaheim, 20-0-2) … Colorado recently completed its best 60-game home stretch in franchise history going 49-5-6 (.867) from March 10, 2021 to October 19, 2022.
ALL I DO IS WIN WIN WIN NO MATTER WHAT
The 2021-22 Avalanche equaled the NHL record for the most combined regular season/playoff wins with 72 (56 regular season, 16 playoff), a feat only three teams in NHL history had achieved before … The 2021-22 Avalanche joined the 1995-96 Red Wings, 1983-84 Oilers and 1976-77 Canadiens on that list
RECORD REGULAR SEASON
The 2021-22 Avalanche set a franchise record with 56 wins and 119 points en route to winning their second straight division title and 11th since moving to Denver (13th in franchise history) … It marked the club’s first back-to-back division championships since their NHL-record run of nine straight from 1994-95 to 2002-03 … The Avs clinched the conference’s top spot despite facing a 10-point deficit behind the No. 1 seed on Dec. 3 … The last team to win their conference after overcoming a deficit of 10 or more points was the Rangers in 2014-15 (13) … After sweeping a backto-back from Arizona on Jan. 15, the Avalanche remained in first place in the West over the final 106 days of the regular season … During a span of over two months from Feb 10–April 19, Colorado was first in the entire NHL for all but one day (68 out of 69)
WINS, FRANCHISE HISTORY POINTS, FRANCHISE HISTORY
56 2021-22 119 2021-22
52 2000-01 118 2000-01
52 2013-14 112 2013-14
ROAD, SWEET ROAD
The Avalanche finished a league-best 9-1 on the road during the 2022 postseason, tied for the fewest road losses by a Stanley Cup champion since 1987 (the 2012 Kings and 1995 Devils were both 10-1) … Colorado earned all four series-clinching wins on the road, including Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final in Tampa Bay … Colorado won its first seven away games to start these playoffs, matching its longest road playoff winning streak in franchise history (1999) and equaling the second longest such streak in NHL history.
AINT NO MOUNTAIN HIGH, AINT NO VALLEY LOW
Colorado’s Stanley Cup championship came five years after a last-place finish in 2016-17 …. The Avs became the fifth team in the expansion era (1967-68) to win a title within five years of a last place finish and the first since the 2009 Penguins … Colorado won the Presidents’ Trophy the previous year in 2020-21, becoming the first NHL team to go from worst to first overall in four seasons or less since the Bruins in 1970-71.
DOWN BUT NEVER OUT
Ten of the Avalanche’s wins during the 2022 postseason were earned in come-from-behind fashion, including four third-period comebacks … Colorado’s 10 comeback wins tied the 2009 Penguins for the most in NHL history … The Avs trailed in all four of their series-clinching victories, the first team in NHL history to do so.
MAGIC YEAR FOR MAKAR
After becoming the first player in franchise history to win the Norris Trophy, Makar followed that up by winning the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP … At 23 years, 239 days, he became the youngest defenseman in 52 years to win the Conn Smythe and just the third overall to do so at age 23 or younger, joining Bobby Orr with the 1970 Bruins (22 years, 51 days) and Serge Savard with the 1969 Canadiens (23 years, 102 days) … Makar won the Conn Smythe just five days after receiving his first Norris Trophy … He became the third player to win both awards in the same season, following Orr in 1970 and Nicklas Lidstrom in 2002 … Makar led the Avalanche and all NHL defensemen with 29 points (8g/21a) in 20 games, the fourth-highest total by a defenseman in Stanley Cup Playoff history … Only Paul Coffey (37) with the 1985 Oilers, Brian Leetch (34) with the 1994 Rangers and Al MacInnis (31) with the 1989 Flames had more.
SUPER JOE ACHIEVES RARE FIRST
General Manager (now President) Joe Sakic, who captained the Avalanche to a pair of titles in 1996 and 2001, became the first individual in league history to win a Stanley Cup as a captain and GM with the same organization … He was just the third to win a championship as a player and general manager with the same franchise, joining Serge Savard of the Canadiens and Milt Schmidt of the Bruins.
IN BEDNAR WE TRUST
Jared Bednar is beginning his seventh season as the Avalanche’s head coach … Hired on Aug. 25, 2016, he is the third-longest tenured coach in the NHL behind Jon Cooper (March 25, 2013) and Mike Sullivan (Dec. 12, 2015) … Jared led the 2021-22 Avalanche to their most successful regular season in franchise history (56-19-7, 119 points) and continued that into the postseason with a 16-4 playoff mark en route to capturing the 2022 Stanley Cup … Bednar, who won a Calder Cup with the Lake Erie Monsters in 2016 and a Kelly Cup with the South Carolina Stingrays in 2009, became the first individual to win a championship in the NHL, AHL and ECHL as a head coach … He is the winningest coach in Avalanche history with a 249-173-47 (.581) regular season record … Bednar owns a 40-22-1 (.635) record in 63 postseason games, the best playoff winning percentage among active coaches and the third highest all time (min 50 GP) behind Glen Sather (.706), Toe Blake (.689).
TIP OF CAP
Gabriel Landeskog enters his 12th NHL season and 11th as team captain … Landeskog was the youngest captain in NHL history when he assumed the role at 19 years, 286 days on Sept. 4, 2012, a title he held for four years before Connor McDavid was given the ‘C’ by Edmonton at 19 years, 266 days on Oct. 5, 2016 … Landeskog is the secondlongest serving captain in franchise history behind only Joe Sakic (17 seasons, 16 consecutive) … Only three players have been captain of their current teams longer:
Sidney Crosby (PIT)…………………. 16th season (since 2007-08)
Jonathan Toews (CHI) …………….. 15th season (since 2008-09)
Alex Ovechkin (WSH)………………. 14th season (since 2009-10)
Gabriel Landeskog (COL)…………11th season (since 2012-13)
MILE HIGH MAINSTAY
Erik Johnson begins his 15th NHL season and 13th with the Avalanche … His 13 seasons rank fourth in franchise history behind only Joe Sakic (20), Adam Foote (17) and Milan Hejduk (14), with Foote the only other defenseman on that list … Johnson is the longest current tenured athlete of any of Denver’s four major sports teams, followed by Gabriel Landeskog and Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon (both 12 seasons).
2022-23 AVALANCHE TRANSACTIONS
Nov. 13 – Andreas Englund recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL) … Shane Bowers placed on IR (retroactive to Nov. 12)
Nov. 14 – Jayson Megna, Sampo Ranta recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL) … Andreas Englund, Jayson Megna, Sampo Ranta reassigned to the Colorado Eagles (AHL)
Nov. 15 – Anton Blidh recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL)
Nov. 16 – Andreas Englund, Jayson Megna recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL)
WASHINGTON CAPITALS NOTES:
LAST GAME
Washington 4, St. Louis Blues 5 (SO)
November 17, 2022 * Enterprise Center * St. Louis, MO
Shots: WSH: 51; STL: 24
Power Plays: WSH: 1/3; STL: 1/4
Three Stars: 1. Buchnevich (STL), 2. Carlson (WSH), 3. Greiss (STL)
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Loaned defenseman Lucas Johansen to AHL Hershey and activated defenseman Alex Alexeyev from injured non-roster list, 11/9 Claimed forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel off waivers from Toronto and loaned forward Garrett Pilon to AHL Hershey, 11/5
INJURIES/ILLNESSES
Nicklas Backstrom: 10/12-11/17 (19 games)
Carl Hagelin: 10/12-11/17 (19 games)
Tom Wilson: 10/12-11/17 (19 games)
Connor Brown: 10/20/22-11/17/22 (15 games)
T.J. Oshie: 10/31/22-11/17/22 (10 games)
Beck Malenstyn: 11/3/22-11/17/22 (8 games)
Dmitry Orlov: 11/7/22-11/17/22 (6 games)
John Carlson: 10/31/22-11/9/22 (6 games)
Man Games Lost: 102
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Nov. 23, 7:30 p.m. ET vs. Philadelphia (TNT, 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio 24/7)
Nov. 25, 2 p.m. ET vs. Calgary (NBCSW, 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio 24/7)
Nov. 26, 7 p.m. ET at New Jersey (NBCSW, 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio 24/7)
Nov. 29, 10 p.m. ET at Vancouver (NBCSW, 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio 24/7)
Dec. 1, 10 p.m. ET at Seattle (NBCSW, 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio 24/7)
TONIGHT’S GAME
The Capitals host the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday at Capital One Arena for the first of two meeting between the teams this season. The Capitals have a record of 47-32-9-1 all-time versus Colorado and are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games against the Avalanche. The Capitals have won three-straight games against the Avalanche, including both meetings last season, outscoring Colorado 9-5 over two games.
HOME vs. COLORADO AVALANCHE
Record Goals For Goals Against Streak
25-14-4-1 167 136 1 WSH win (10/19/21)
CAPITALS vs. AVALANCHE ALL-TIME (CAREER TOTALS)
Games Goals Assists Points
Oshie (33) Ovechkin (10) Oshie (19) Oshie (28)
Ovechkin (22) Oshie (9) Kuznetsov (13) Kuznetsov (20)
Johansson (20) Kuznetsov (7) Carlson (9) Ovechkin (18)
POINT STREAKS
John Carlson – 2 game point streak (3g, 1a), 2 game goal streak (3g)
Dylan Strome – 2 game point streak (1g, 2a)
TOP CAPS FACTS
900 Club
- John Carlson played his 900th career game on Thursday at St. Louis, becoming the sixth player in franchise to history play 900
games with the Capitals.
MOST GAMES PLAYED IN CAPITALS FRANCHISE HISTORY
Player Position Games Played Goals Assists Points
Alex Ovechkin LW 1,293 789 638 1,427
Nicklas Backstrom C 1,058 264 747 1,011
Calle Johansson D 983 113 361 474
Peter Bondra RW 961 472 353 825
Kelly Miller LW 940 162 246 408
John Carlson D 900 137 467 604
- Since 2010-11 – Carlson’s first full season with Washington – he has played in 878 of the Capitals’ 930 games (94.4 percent). Carlson’s 878 games played in that span trail only Alex Ovechkin (897).
- Carlson scored two goals in his 900th career game, marking his ninth career multi-goal game and his 138th career multi-point game.
- Carlson scored shorthanded and on the power play, becoming the fourth defenseman in franchise history to score a shorthanded goal and a power play goal in the same game, joining Mike Green (Feb. 7, 2009 vs. FLA), Al Iafrate (Feb. 13, 1993 at LAK) and Kevin Hatcher (Jan. 10, 1992 vs. LAK). Carlson is the 38th defenseman in NHL history to accomplish the feat and the first since Calgary’s Noah Hanifin on Nov. 25, 2018.
- Carlson has recorded four points (2g, 2a) in his last two games and has 11 points (5g, 6a) in 13 games this season.
- Carlson recorded his 600th career point on Nov. 11 against Tampa Bay and simultaneously passed Michal Pivonka (599) for the fifth-most points in franchise history.
- Carlson is the Capitals’ franchise leader in assists (467) and points (604) among defensemen and ranks second in games played
(900) and third in goals (137) all-time among Washington blueliners. - Since 2017-18, Carlson ranks first in the NHL in points among defensemen (75g-264a—339p), holding a 22-point lead over the next closest defensemen (Roman Josi: 317 points).
Clutch Carly
- Carlson has scored four of his five goals this season in the third period. Carlson’s four third-period goals lead the Capitals. In addition,
Carlson has recorded two of his six assists in the third period. - All five of Carlson’s goals have come when the Capitals have trailed, with two being game-tying goals in games the Capitals won (Oct. 17 vs. VAN; Oct. 22 vs. LAK).
- Since returning to the Capitals’ lineup on Nov. 11 after missing the previous six games due to injury, Carlson leads the Capitals in points (5), time on ice per game (25:56) and blocked shots (12). In addition, Carlson ranks tied for first on Washington in shots (18) and is tied for first among Capitals defensemen in shot attempt percentage at five-on-five (57.2%) over the team’s last four games.
HistOvi
- Alex Ovechkin recorded three points (1g, 2a) on Thursday against St. Louis, including his 789th career goal.
- Ovechkin is 11 goals shy of becoming the third player in NHL history to score 800 career goals and 13 goals shy of passing Gordie
Howe for second on the NHL’s all-time goals list. - With his three-point performance, Ovechkin passed Bryan Trottier (1,425) for the 18th-most points in NHL history.
- It also marked his 400th career multi-point game, moving him past Mark Recchi (399) for the 15th most multi-point games in NHL
history. - Ovechkin ranks first in NHL history in power play goals (290) and overtime goals (24), second in game-winning goals (122), road goals (401) and multi-goal games (159), and fourth in even strength goals (494).
- Ovechkin has recorded 17 points (9g, 8a) in 19 games this season, which leads the Capitals.
Shooters Shoot
- Alex Ovechkin led the Capitals with nine shots on Thursday, his 88th career game with nine or more shots.
- Ovechkin has led the League in shots in 11 of his 18 seasons and has ranked in the top-three in 16 of his 18 seasons.
- Ovechkin has averaged 4.75 shots per game in his career and is 73 shots shy of passing Ray Bourque (6,209) for the most shots in NHL history.
Old Friends
- Goaltender Darcy Kuemper and forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel are expected to face their former team for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup with Colorado in June.
- Kuemper posted a record of 37-12-4 with a 2.54 goals-against average and .921 save percentage in 57 games with Colorado in 2021-22, ranking tied for fourth in the NHL in wins and shutouts (5) and fifth in save percentage.
- Kuemper started 16 of Colorado’s 20 playoff games, going 10-4 with a 2.57 goals-against average and .902 save percentage. In six Stanley Cup Final games against Tampa Bay, Kuemper went 4-2 with a 2.45 goals-against average, a .908 save percentage and one shutout.
- Kuemper made 38 saves in his last start against Florida on Nov. 15, marking the second-most saves he has made in a game this season (39 saves, Oct. 20 at Ottawa).
- Since 2017-18, Kuemper has made 38 or more saves in a game 21 times. In those games, Kuemper has a record of 14-7-0.
- Since 2017-18, Kuemper ranks first in the NHL in save percentage (.921) and second in goals-against average (2.45) (min. 150 GP).
- In nine career games versus Colorado, Kuemper has posted a record of 4-1-2 with a 1.90 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage. Kuemper’s career 1.90 goals-against average against the Avalanche is the third-lowest goals-against average he has recorded against a single franchise (1.32 GAA vs. ARI; 1.79 GAA vs. CGY).
- Aube-Kubel recorded a career high 23 points (11g, 12a) in 74 games with the Philadelphia Flyers and Colorado in 2021-22. AubeKubel’s 123 hits in 67 games with Colorado last season ranked second on the team.
- Aube-Kubel, who was claimed off waivers by Colorado from Philadelphia on Nov. 13, 2021, appeared in 14 of Colorado’s 16 playoff games and posting a +2 plus/minus rating.
Shear It Up
- Conor Sheary scored his seventh goal of the season on Thursday at St. Louis. Sheary’s goal tied the gamed with 3:03 remaining in regulation.
- Sheary’s seven goals this season rank second on the Capitals, trailing only Alex Ovechkin (9).
- Sheary has recorded three goals in his last four games.
- With 10 points (7g, 3a) in 19 games, Sheary is on pace to record 30 goals and 43 points this season. Should Sheary maintain his scoring pace, he would establish a new career high in goals (2016-17: 23) and match his point total from last season.
- Six of Sheary’s seven goals have come at five-on-five, which leads the Capitals and ranks tied for 10th in the NHL, through games played Nov. 17.
- Sheary’s only goal not scored during five-on-five play was a shorthanded goal on Oct. 24 at New Jersey, which marked his first career shorthanded goal.
- Sheary ranks second among Capitals forwards in shorthanded ice time per game (2:07). Prior to the start of this season, Sheary averaged 0:14 of shorthanded ice time per game in his career.
- Since joining the Capitals ahead of the 2020-21 season, Sheary ranks second on Washington in goals with 40 (Ovechkin: 83) and second in goals at five-on-five with 32 (Ovechkin: 41).
- Among active forwards that went undrafted, Sheary ranks fifth in career goals (112) and seventh in games played (468).
Strome Cookin’
- Dylan Strome recorded two assists on Thursday at St. Louis, marking his third multi-assist game this season and his team-leading fifth multi-point game.
- Strome has recorded three points (1g, 2a) in his last two games.
- Strome has recorded 15 points (5g, 10a) in 19 games this season. Strome ranks second on the Capitals in points, assists and powerplay points (2g-6a—8p).
- Through 19 games, Strome is averaging 17:18 of ice time, which ranks third among Capitals forwards (Alex Ovechkin: 21:02; Evgeny Kuznetsov: 18:55). Prior to the start of this season, Strome had averaged 16:02 of ice time per game in his career.
Heavy Hitters
- Washington’s 536 hits this season are the second most in the NHL, through games played Nov. 17.
- The Capitals have out hit their opponents in 12 of their 19 games.
- Martin Fehervary leads the Capitals with 68 hits this season and ranks second in the NHL. Garnet Hathaway ranks fourth in the NHL with 64 hits, while Alex Ovechkin ranks 12th with 57.
- The Capitals have blocked 288 shots this season, which ranks sixth in the NHL through games played Nov. 17.
Penalty Skill
- The Capitals have killed off 36 of 43 power plays (83.7 percent) over their last 14 games, dating back to Oct. 22. During that span, Washington’s 83.7 penalty kill percentage ranks sixth in the NHL.
- Washington has drawn 95 penalties this season – tied for the most in the NHL – and their +17 net penalty differential ranks first in the NHL.
- Garnet Hathaway, who drew three penalties on Tuesday against Florida, leads the Capitals and ranks tied for sixth in the NHL with 11 drawn penalties this season.
Did You Know?
- The Capitals recorded 51 shots on goal against St. Louis on Thursday, the first time Washington registered 50 or more shots in a games since March 20, 2019 versus Tampa Bay. The Capitals are one of eight teams to record at least 50 shots in a game this season.
- The Capitals limited St. Louis to three shots on goal in the third period, the fewest shots they have allowed in a single period this season.
- Lars Eller has won 58.3 percent of his faceoffs since Nov. 1, which ranks tied for 10th in the NHL during that span (min. 100 faceoffs taken)
