WINNIPEG JETS NOTES:
Scene Setter
The Winnipeg Jets play their second game in as many nights when they visit the Washington Capitals on Friday night. The Jets lost 3-2 to the Boston Bruins in the first game of the back-to-back on Thursday. After the three-day Christmas break, the Jets host the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday and Vancouver Canucks on Thursday next week.
Last Game
Boston Bruins 3
Winnipeg Jets 2
Jets Scorers: Scheifele (20), Harkins (3)
Bruins Scorers: Pastrnak (22), DeBrusk (12), Foligno (6)
Jets Goaltender: Connor Hellebuyck (36 sv, 3 ga)
Bruins Goaltender: Jeremy Swayman (25 sv, 2 ga)
Jets PP: 0-for-2
Jets PK: 3-for-4
Recap: The Jets build a 2-0 lead in the first period, but lost 3-2 to the Boston Bruins on Thursday night. Mark Scheifele scored his 20th goal of the season less than two minutes into the first period. Jansen Harkins also scored for the Jets. Pierre-Luc Dubois led the Jets with six shots, while Dylan Samberg had four takeaways. Connor Hellebuyck made 36 saves in his first start in three games.
Among Best of the West
The Jets are tied for sixth in the NHL with a .652 points percentage, which also ranks first in the Central Division and second in the Western Conference… Winnipeg’s best points percentage in franchise history was in 2017-18 when the team finished at .695… The franchise has finished
a season with a points percentage better than .600 four times.
Goals, Goals, Goals
The Jets have scored five goals or more in nine of their past 15 games… Since Nov. 25, Winnipeg leads the NHL with 59 goals in 15 games…The Jets have tallied five goals or more in 11 games this season, which is tied for second in the NHL.
Busy Time of Year
Winnipeg plays 16 games in 30 days from Dec. 2-31… The stretch includes three back-to-backs… The Jets only consecutive days off in December are from Dec. 24-26 for the Christmas break… The Jets only played eight games in December last season due to COVID-related postponements, going 4-3-1.
Road Record
The Jets are 9-6-1 on the road this season. Winnipeg has lost consecutive road games for the first time this season and matching a franchise record five-game road winning streak… Defenceman Josh Morrissey (1G, 19A) leads the Jets in scoring on the road with 20 points and has a point in 10 consecutive road games, which ties the franchise record (Mark Scheifele and Neal Pionk had 10-game road point streaks last season)… Pierre-Luc Dubois has a team leading eight goals… The Jets are in the midst of playing nine of 10 road games in Eastern Conference destinations… Six of the nine games are part of a back-to-back.
Home Comforts
The Jets are 12-5-0 at Canada Life Centre to start the season… Winnipeg has won 16 of their past 21 home games dating back to last season…Kyle Connor (10G, 14A) leads the team with 24 points in 17 home games… Mark Scheifele’s 12 goals at home is halfway to the career high 24 goals he had at home during the 2018-19 season… Connor Hellebuyck has been stellar on home ice this season, going 10-4-0 with a 1.78 goals-against average, .942 save percentage and three shutouts… Winnipeg is 241-154-36 all-time at Canada Life Centre and have posted a .500 record or better at home in six consecutive seasons.
Facing Eastward
This is Winnipeg’s 11th game against an Eastern Conference opponent this season, having gone 5-5-0 so far… The Jets are playing the last of three consecutive games against an Eastern Conference team on Friday… Pierre-Luc Dubois has a team leading 14 points (5G, 9A) in 10 games against the Eastern Conference this season.
Back-2-Back
The Jets are playing their sixth of 13 back-to-back sets on their schedule this season, having gone 7-4-0 so far… The Jets were 6-4-2 in the first game of a back-to-back last season and 5-5-2 in the second game for an overall record of 11-9-4.
Top 5 PK
Winnipeg is tied for fifth in the NHL with a penalty kill successful 81.1% of the time… The Jets have played 141:24 on the penalty kill this season, which is fourth fewest in the NHL… The last time the Jets had a penalty kill better than 82% was in 2013-14 when they finished the season at 83.2%… The franchise record for penalty kill percentage in a season is 85.2%, which occurred in Atlanta during the 2003-04 season.
Mr. Norrissey
Defenceman Josh Morrissey leads the Jets in scoring with 39 points (6G, 33A) in 33 games, which continues to be a new career high for points…
He has also established a new career high with 33 assists… He’s halfway to the career best 12 goals he had in 79 games last season… Morrissey has 13 assists during a current 11-game assist streak, which is a new franchise record… He has a point in 28 of his 33 games this season and hasn’t gone consecutive games without a point… Morrissey is second in the NHL among defencemen in scoring, while his 33 assists rank first among NHL defencemen and fourth overall… Morrissey is on pace for 82 assists and 97 points this season… Morrissey is on pace to become the first defenceman to lead the team in scoring in franchise history… The franchise record for points by a defenceman in a season is 56, which Dustin Byfuglien did in 2013-14… Byfuglien (4 times), Toby Enstrom (twice), and Jacob Trouba (once) are the only defencemen in franchise history to post 50 points or more in a season.
Festive KC
Despite having his 10-game point streak end on Thursday, Kyle Connor is fourth in NHL scoring since Nov. 23 with 23 points (10G, 13A) in 16 games… Connor averaged 1.42 points per game in November and has 1.42 points per game in December after tallying four points in nine games in October to start the season.
The Rookie
Cole Perfetti is third in NHL rookie scoring with 20 points (6G, 14A) in 33 games… Perfetti could become the fifth rookie in franchise history to post 50 points in a season, previously done by Dany Heatley (67 – 2001-02), Patrik Laine (64 – 2016-17), Kyle Connor (57 – 2017-18), and Ilya Kovalchuk (51 – 2001-02).
Helle
Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is tied for second in the NHL with a .928 save percentage this season… His 17 wins are second among the league’s netminders and he joins Detroit’s Ville Husso and Carolina’s Pyotr Kochetkov as the only goalies with three shutouts this season… Hellebuyck owns a 2.36 goals-against average this season, fifth in the NHL, while the Jets are averaging 3.53 goals per game when he’s in net… He has stopped more than 90% of the shots he’s face in nine of his past 11 starts.
Shooting Streak s
Kyle Connor has a shot in all 33 games this season… It’s the 16th time in franchise history a player has had a shot in 33 games to start a season… He leads the Jets with 116 shots this season… Mark Scheifele has a shot in 14 consecutive games, while Dylan DeMelo has a shot in 12 consecutive games, while is one shy of the career high 12-game shot streak he had from Oct. 20-Mov. 25 this season.
20 X 8
Mark Scheifele is the 10th player to reach 20 goals this season… It’s the eighth consecutive season he’s reached 20 goals, which ties Ilya Kovalchuk for most 20 goals in franchise history with eight… Scheifele has a pair of 30-goal seasons, but has never hit the 40-goal mark… He’s on pace for a career best 49 goals this season.
Extra Time
The Jets are 7-1 in overtime this season… Winnipeg has won five consecutive OT games, which is one game shy of the franchise record in a season (Oct. 22/18-Jan. 13/19)… Winnipeg’s eight OT games are tied for the second most in the NHL this season and the Jets are the only team with seven wins in overtime… Winnipeg is one of five teams to not play in a shootout this season.. Five of Winnipeg’s seven OT winners have come in the first two minutes of the extra session… Mark Scheifele holds the franchise record with 12 OT winning goals… The seven wins is two better than the five overtime wins Winnipeg had last season in 12 games decided in OT… During the past three seasons, Winnipeg is 18-9 in games decided in overtime… The franchise record for OT wins is 10, set in 2010-11.
Zeros
The Jets have registered three shutouts this season, which is tied for second in the NHL… Winnipeg’s first two shutouts were by 4-0 scores (Oct. 24 vs. STL and Nov. 5 vs. CHI), while the Nov. 29 5- 0 shutout against Colorado gives the Jets all three shutout wins by at least four goals… The Jets had five shutouts last season, which is two shy of the franchise record.
Taking the Challenge
Head Coach Rick Bowness has made three challenges this season, resulting in two calls being overturned… Both challenges resulted in goals being overturned to no goals – one for offside and one for a stoppage… The Jets are 2-0-0 in games this season when they have made a successful coach’s challenge… Opposing coaches have made two challenges in games this season against the Jets, going 1-for-2.
Jets vs. WSH Notes
Season Series
The Jets and Capitals play twice this season, with both games happening in December… The Jets lost 5-2 to the Capitals on Dec. 11.
Recent History
The Jets are winless in their past three games against the Capitals and are 5-5-4 in the past 14 meetings… The home team has won nine of the past 10 games between the two squads… Winnipeg hasn’t won consecutive games against Washington since 2013.
In Washington
The Jets haven’t won in Washington since Jan. 22/13… Winnipeg is 0-5-4 since then… The Jets have lost four of their past five games in Washington in overtime or a shootout.
Player Notes
Blake Wheeler leads the Jets in career scoring against Washington with 19 points (5G, 14A) in 38 games.. Mark Scheifele has 14 points (8G, 6A) in 17 games against the Capitals, including nine points (5G, 4A) in his past eight
Jets vs. WSH Past 10 Games
Date Opp Res G GA S PPO PPG PIM SA PPOA PPGA PIMA
11/03/2016 @Was OTL 3 4 27 2 0 12 32 5 1 0
02/13/2018 Was W 4 3 44 3 0 4 27 2 0 0
03/12/2018 @Was OTL 2 3 28 3 0 8 43 4 1 0
11/14/2018 Was W 3 1 24 3 1 6 28 3 0 0
03/10/2019 @Was L 1 3 34 5 0 4 18 2 0 0
02/25/2020 @Was SOL 3 4 33 3 0 7 37 1 0 0
02/27/2020 Was W 3 0 32 3 0 6 34 3 0 0
12/17/2021 Was L 2 5 42 3 1 4 39 2 0 0
01/18/2022 @Was OTL 3 4 33 4 1 4 31 2 0 0
12/11/2022 Was L 2 5 31 3 0 14 36 2 1 1
WASHINGTON CAPITALS NOTES:
LAST GAME
Washington 3, Ottawa Senators 2 (OT)
December 22, 2022 * Canadian Tire Centre * Ottawa, ON
Shots: WSH: 40; OTT: 25
Power Plays: WSH: 1/3; OTT: 1/6
Three Stars: 1. Ovechkin (WSH), 2. Talbot (OTT), 3. Johansson (WSH)
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Loaned defenseman Lucas Johansen to AHL Hershey, 12/19
Loaned goaltenders Zach Fucale and Hunter Shepard to AHL Hershey, 12/19
Recalled goaltender Zach Fucale from AHL Hershey, 12/17
INJURIES/ILLNESSES
Nicklas Backstrom: 10/12-12/22 (35 games)
Carl Hagelin: 10/12-12/22 (35 games)
Tom Wilson: 10/12-12/22 (35 games)
Connor Brown: 10/20/22-12/22/22 (31 games)
Beck Malenstyn: 11/3/22-12/22/22 (24 games)
Martin Fehervary: 12/5/22-12/22/22 (9 games)
T.J. Oshie: 10/31/22-11/19/22, 12/19/22-12/22/22 (13 games)
Alex Alexeyev: 12/11/22-12/19/22 (5 games)
Darcy Kuemper: 12/5/22-12/17/22 (7 games)
Nic Dowd: 12/17/22 (1 game)
Hunter Shepard: 12/17/22 (1 game)
Sonny Milano: 12/15/22 (1 game)
Dmitry Orlov: 11/7/22-12/9/22 (16 games)
John Carlson: 10/31/22-11/9/22 (6 games)
Erik Gustafsson: 12/11/22 (1 game)
Lars Eller: 12/13/22 (1 game)
Man Games Lost: 221
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Dec. 27, 7 p.m. ET at New York Rangers (NBCSW+, 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio 24/7)
Dec. 29, 7 p.m. ET vs. Ottawa (NBCSW, 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio 24/7)
Dec. 31, 4 p.m. ET vs. Montreal (NBCSW, 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio 24/7)
Jan. 3, 7 p.m. ET vs. Buffalo (NBCSW+, 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio 24/7)
Jan. 5, 7 p.m. ET at Columbus (ESPN, 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio 24/7)
TONIGHT’S GAME
The Capitals host the Winnipeg Jets on Friday at Capital One Arena for the second of two meetings between the teams this season. Washington defeated the Jets 5-2 in Winnipeg on Dec. 11. Five different players scored for Capitals in the win, while goaltender Charlie Lindgren stopped 29 of 31 shots faced. Washington is 54-28-5-9 all-time versus the Winnipeg/Atlanta franchise and have a record of 18-6-4 against the Jets since their relocation in 2011-12. In addition, the Capitals are 9-2-2 in their last 13 games against Winnipeg and have won nine-straight games against the Jets at home. Alex Ovechkin has recorded 95 points (51g, 44a) in 70 career games against Winnipeg/Atlanta, the most goals he has scored against a single franchise (Tampa Bay: 50) and tied for the second most points he has against a single opponent (Carolina: 99; Tampa Bay: 95).
HOME vs. WINNIPEG JETS (Since 2011-12)
Record Goals For Goals Against Streak
10-1-2 47 34 9 WSH wins (4/23/13-1/18/22)
CAPITALS vs. JETS/THRASHERS ALL-TIME (Career Totals)
Games Goals Assists Points
Ovechkin (70) Ovechkin (51) Ovechkin (44) Ovechkin (95)
Backstrom (49) Backstrom (18) Backstrom (30) Backstrom (48)
Carlson (34) Eller (8) Johansson (17) Johansson (22)
POINT STREAKS
Erik Gustafsson – 3 game point streak (4g, 2a)
Alex Ovechkin – 2 game point streak (0g, 3a), 2 game assist streak (3a)\
Dmitry Orlov – 2 game point streak (1g, 1a)
Marcus Johansson – 2 game point streak (1g, 1a)
TOP CAPS FACTS
Big Month
- The Capitals will play their 36th game of the season on Dec. 23.
- Washington enters Friday’s game with a record of 18-13-4 (40 points). The Capitals currently sit in eighth place in the Eastern Conference and in the East’s second wild card spot.
- Entering their game on Nov. 23 against Philadelphia, the Capitals had a record of 7-10-3 and sat in 13th place in the Eastern Conference.
- Since then, the Capitals have gone 11-3-1 (.767 point percentage) and have improved their overall point percentage from .425 to .571.
- The Capitals have earned 23 points over the last 31 days, tied for the second-most points in the NHL during that span.
- Since Nov. 23, the Capitals rank tied for first in the NHL in wins (11) and rank in the top-11 of nearly every major statistical category.
- Nine of the Capitals’ next 10 games following the NHL’s holiday break will come against Eastern Conference opponents, including six Metropolitan Division games.
OT Winners
- Marcus Johansson scored in overtime to give the Capitals their third-straight win and their second-straight overtime win.
- It marks the 13th time in franchise history that the Capitals have won consecutive games in overtime or the shootout. Washington most recently won consecutive overtime/shootout games on March 11 (4-3 OT vs. VAN) and March 15, 2022 (4-3 SO vs. NYI) (per NHL Stats).
- Johansson scored his fifth career regular season overtime goal (he has one career playoff overtime goal) and it marked his first with Washington since Dec. 5, 2016 (3-2 win vs. Buffalo).
Shooters Shoot
- Alex Ovechkin recorded six shots on Thursday at Ottawa, passing Ray Bourque (6,209) for the most shots in NHL history.
- Ovechkin has led the League in shots in 11 of his 17 completed seasons and has ranked in the top-three in 16 of his 17 seasons.
- Ovechkin has averaged 4.74 shots per game in his career, while Bourque averaged 3.85 (6,209 shots in 1,612 career games).
- Since entering the NHL in 2005-06, Ovechkin leads the League in shots, holding a 2,394-shot lead over the next-closest player (Eric Staal: 3,817 shots).
- Ovechkin has a career shooting percentage of 12.9 percent, the fourth-highest percentage in the NHL since 2005-06 (min. 3,000 shots).
Star-Studded
- Ovechkin was named the NHL’s First Star for the week ending Dec. 18. It marks the 20th time in Ovechkin’s career that he has earned First Star/Player of the Week honors (s/t Ben Sumner).
- Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren was named the NHL’s First Star for the week ending Dec. 11, becoming the 10th different Capitals goaltender to earn the honor and the first since Braden Holtby in 2011 (for the week ending March 14). It’s the first time in franchise history that the Capitals have had players named First Star/Player of the Week in consecutive weeks (s/t Mike Vogel)
Gus Bus
- Erik Gustafsson recorded the primary assist on Marcus Johansson’s overtime goal, extending his point streak to three games (4g, 2a).
- Gustafsson’s four game-winning assists this season rank tied for first on the team (Evgeny Kuznetsov: 4; Alex Ovechkin: 4).
- Gustafsson has recorded 16 points (4g, 12a) in 34 games this season, which ranks second among Capitals defensemen (John Carlson: 8g-13a– 21p in 29 GP).
- Gustafsson recorded his first career hat trick on Dec. 17 vs. Toronto. Gustafsson became the third defenseman in franchise history to score a hat trick, joining Kevin Hatcher (Jan. 13, 1993) and Sergei Gonchar (Jan. 4, 2000).
- Gustafsson scored a goal in Washington’s following game on Dec. 19 vs. Detroit and became the fourth defenseman in franchise history with four goals over a two-game span during the regular season, joining Mike Green (4-1—5 in 2 GP from Feb. 7-11, 2009), Sergei Gonchar (4-1—5 in 2 GP from Jan. 4-6, 2000) and Kevin Hatcher (4-1—5 in 2 GP from Jan. 9-13, 1993) (courtesy of NHL Stats).
- Gustafsson’s three-goal game was the 147th regular season hat trick in franchise history and the second hat trick by a Capitals player in a three-game span, following Alex Ovechkin’s 29th career hat trick on Dec. 13 at Chicago. It’s the 15th time in franchise history that the Capitals have recorded multiple hat tricks over a three-game span (per NHL Stats).
- Gustafsson is one of two defensemen to record a hat trick this season (San Jose’s Erik Karlsson: Nov. 1 vs. Anaheim).
Like It Orlov It
- Dmitry Orlov led the Capitals in ice time (26:13) and recorded an assist on Thursday at Ottawa. Since returning to the Capitals’ lineup on Dec. 11 at Winnipeg, Orlov has recorded five points (2g, 3a) in six games.
- Orlov scored the game-winning goal in overtime on Monday vs. Detroit, marking his fourth career overtime goal.
- With the goal, Orlov passed Al Iafrate (58) for the ninth-most goals by a defenseman in franchise history.
- It also marked Orlov’s 15th career game-winning goal, passing Scott Stevens and Sylvain Cote for the sixth most in franchise history among defensemen.
- Since the start of the 2019-20 season, Orlov leads the Capitals in overtime goals (4).
- Orlov, who missed 16 consecutive games due to injury prior to his return, has averaged 23:33 of ice time in Washington’s last six games, the second-highest average on the team (John Carlson: 23:53). In addition, Orlov leads the Capitals in ice time at five-on-five (120:43) since his return.
O From D
- Capitals defensemen have combined for 21 goals this season, which is tied for the second-highest total in the NHL (New York Islanders: 24, Florida Panthers: 21).
- Washington defensemen have also combined for 75 (21g, 54a) of the team’s 291 points (25.8%), which is the ninth-highest percentage in the NHL.
Terrific Tandem
- Over his last eight starts, Charlie Lindgren is 7-1-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage.
- This season, Lindgren has a record of 9-4-2 with a 2.71 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage. The Capitals have earned at least one point in 11 of the 14 games Lindgren has started (9-3-2). Among goaltenders with 14 or fewer starts this season, Lindgren ranks third in the NHL in wins.
- Darcy Kuemper stopped 23 of 25 shots faced Thursday at Ottawa, earning his ninth win of the season
- Kuemper has posted a record of 4-0-1 with a 1.77 goals-against average, a .939 save percentage and one shutout in his last six starts, dating back to Nov. 23.
- The Capitals are one of four teams in the NHL to have two goaltenders with 12 or more games played and save percentages .910 or higher (also Dallas, New York Islanders and Toronto).
Special Teams
- The Capitals have killed off 73 of 88 power plays (83.0 percent) over their last 30 games, dating back to Oct. 22. During that span, Washington’s 83.0 penalty kill percentage ranks third in the NHL.
- Through games played Dec. 20, the Capitals’ 80.4 penalty kill percentage ranks 11th in the NHL.
- On average, the Washington is shorthanded 2.91 times per game, which is the fourth-lowest rate in the NHL.
- Since Nov. 23, the Capitals have scored 11 power play goals on 42 opportunities (26.2 percent). During that span, Washington’s 26.2 power play percentage ranks 11th in the NHL.
- The Capitals went seven-straight games with a power play goal from Dec. 1 – December 13, which marked Washington’s longest stretch of consecutive games with at least one power play goal since the 2009-10 season (seven-straight games: March 6 – March 18, 2010).
- The Capitals have had 116 power play opportunities this season, which are tied for the eighth most in the NHL.
- Washington has drawn 144 penalties this season – tied for the sixth most in the NHL – and their +20 net penalty differential ranks tied for first in the NHL.
Kuz Control
- Evgeny Kuznetsov recorded two points (1g, 1a) on Thursday at Ottawa, including an assist on Marcus Johansson’s overtime goal. Kuznetsov’s four game-winning assists this season rank tied for first on the team (Erik Gustafsson: 4; Alex Ovechkin: 4).
- Kuznetsov has recorded eleven points (2g, 9a) in his last ten games.
- With an assist on Dec. 13 at Chicago, Kuznetsov passed Calle Johansson (361) for the seventh-most assists in franchise history. Kuznetsov passed Bengt Gustafsson (359) for the eighth-most assists in franchise history on Dec. 7 at Philadelphia.
- Kuznetsov leads the Capitals with 22 assists in 34 games this season.
- Kuznetsov is on pace for 53 assists this season. Should he maintain his scoring pace, it would mark Kuznetsov’s fifth career 50-assist season.
- Among Washington’s top-10 assists leaders all-time, Kuznetsov’s 0.58 assists per game rate ranks second, trailing only Nicklas Backstrom (0.71 A/GP).
- Since entering the NHL during the 2013-14 season, Kuznetsov has recorded 1.52 assists per 60 minutes at five-on-five. That’s tied for the fifth-highest rate in the NHL among players with at least 200 five-on-five assists during that span (Connor McDavid: 1.77; Artemi Panarin: 1.69; Ryan Getzlaf: 1.54; Nikita Kucherov: 1.53; Johnny Gaudreau: 1.52).
Shot Advantage
- The Capitals recorded 40 shots on Thursday at Ottawa, marking their sixth game this season with 40 or more shots.
- Washington allowed just 19 shots on Monday vs. Detroit, marking the lowest single-game shot total by a Capitals’ opponent this season. The Capitals’ +23 shot differential against the Red Wings also marked their highest shot differential in a single game this season.
- Over their last nine games, the Capitals are averaging 37.4 shots for per game and allowing 28.0 shots against.
- Since Dec. 5, Washington has recorded a 53.6 shot attempt percentage at five-on-five (459 shot attempts for, 397 shot attempts against), the seventh-highest rate in the NHL during that span.
Did You Know?
- The Capitals are 18-1-1 when scoring three or more goals this season.
- Washington’s 875 hits this season are the seventh most in the NHL, through games played Dec. 22.
- The Capitals rank seventh in the NHL in blocked shots (548), through games played Dec. 22.
- Since Nov. 1, the Capitals have won 51.5 percent of their faceoffs, which is the 11th-highest win percentage in the NHL during that span.
