WASHINGTON After a down season by
his high standards, Alexander Ovechkin is back to his usual goal-scoring self.
He has a little more joy in his game, and when he plays with joy, he pretty
effective that way, Washington Capitals coach Barry Trotz said after practice
Tuesday. There is little joy at the moment for the Chicago Blackhawks, who just
slogged through five games in seven days at a 1-2-2 clip, though at least they
had a few days to recover after a 3-1 home loss to the Los Angeles Kings on
Sunday.Article continues below ... The Blackhawks hope they have a little more
pep in their step when they face the Capitals on Wednesday in Washington. Theyre
playing good, and it a tough building for us to play in
Glenn Hall
Jersey, Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith said. They have a lot of skill and
firepower, and what weve been doing hasnt been good enough. We have to be
better. Ovechkin scored his league-leading 20th goal of the season in Washington
4-1 triumph over the San Jose Sharks on Monday, the Capitals fifth win in six
games. Ovechkin scored just 33 goals last season but is well on pace for another
50-goal campaign. At times, he is carrying the inconsistent Caps on his
shoulders. When Ovi is skating, he has such a positive effect on our team and he
puts a lot of heat on the other team, Trotz said. With the Blackhawks offense
not placing much pressure on anyone recently, coach Joel Quenneville decided to
juggle his team lines for the Wednesday game, both in five-on-five and
power-play situations
Jan Rutta
Jersey, in the hopes of providing a spark for his sputtering squad. We didnt
score meaningful goals in the last three or four games with the games being on
the line, Quenneville said. We can still be better with the puck and we can have
balance in all the lines, some purpose without the puck as well. Quenneville
moved forward Patrick Kane to the point on the power play during practice
instead of his normal spot on the right boards in the hopes of shaking up a unit
that is in a 1-for-13 slump. He a threat to shoot, threat to pass. There respect
there, Quenneville said of Kane. You say the guy at the top runs the power play.
We feel with the puck in his hands, he a great threat and great weapon. Anton
Forsberg will get the start in net for Chicago as Corey Crawford continues to
recover from a lower-body injury. Braden Holtby figures to start for Washington
Gustav
Forsling Jersey, who likely will be without T.J. Oshie. The forward
sustained an upper-body injury Monday. He so valuable for this team on and off
the ice, Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom said of Oshie. Im sure hell be back
soon. The Capitals have won 11 of 16 since Nov. 2 and seemingly have righted
themselves after two embarrassing defeats against Nashville and Colorado in
which they were outscored 12-5. Were playing with more speed and more
confidence, Backstrom said. Those games were probably two of the worst weve
played in a couple of years. We werent happy after that road trip. We know what
we have to do be successful and win hockey games. You have to do all the little
things right.
Pinnwand