The Washington Capitals welcome the unbeaten Dallas Stars to Capital One Arena to finish off the season-opening home schedule in 2024. Washington picked up its first win on Tuesday against the Vegas Golden Knights, another unbeaten squad from the Western Conference.
Despite a milestone assist in the win earlier this week, Alex Ovechkin still seeks his first goal, entering his third game in 2024-25. After receiving a contract extension, Dallas’s starting goalie, Jake Oettinger, will play his first game. Can the Washington Capitals add another loss to the loss column out West, or will it be the Dallas Stars to defend its conference’s honor?
Washington Capitals 1-1 start
The Washington Capitals enter the clash with Dallas with a 1-1-0 record after a tough start in the opener against New Jersey before beating the Vegas Golden Knights. As expected, the top line featuring Alexander Ovechkin and Dylan Strome have powered the Capitals offense with some help from John Carlson on the blueline. Tom Wilson has two goals and leads the Washington Capitals in scoring early on. Ovechkin’s three assists set the pace for the team.
New defensive addition Jakob Chychrun scored in the win on Tuesday night, while forward Andrew Mangiapane added his first assist for the Capitals franchise. Forward Pierre-Luc Dubois still looks to find his form in 2024 after arriving in an offseason trade.
The Washington Capitals look to leverage their fourth-ranked man advantage, which has a 33.3% success rate on the power play after two games. The Capitals have scored twice on six penalties.
Dominant Dallas Stars Out West
The Dallas Stars bring a pristine 4-0 mark into the Nation’s Capitals for the battle with Washington. Most of the Stars contests in the early season have been tight-checking battles. Rookie Logan Stankoven leads the offense with five assists in four games. It has been a balanced scoring attack, with Mason Marchment, Tyler Sequin, and Roope Hintz all tied for the team lead with two goals. Five other Dallas Stars players have scored once this year.
The Stars announced a long-term contract extension with starting goaltender Jake Oettinger earlier today. The 6-foot-6 netminder has been excellent since he arrived in Dallas in 2020-21. The 25-year-old goalies’ contract is for eight years and $66M with a $23M in signing bonus.
Capitals vs. Stars Goalie Matchup
The Washington Capitals are expected to start Charlie Lindgren in D.C. this evening. Lindgren’s only game came against the New Jersey Devils in the season-opener when the Caps struggled. Washington’s 30-year-old backstop enters with a 4.16 goals-against-average and 89% stop rate in the lone game this season.
Jake Oettinger will be in the net for Dallas, attempting to stop Alex Ovechkin and his friends. Oettinger is 3-0 with a 1.63 goals-against average and a 94% save rate on the season.
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