Head-to-head info
The Golden Knights hold a 10-8 edge over the Capitals in their all-time series and have gone 7-2 against Washington on home ice. The Caps did beat Vegas 4-2 in DC on October 15, though. In the playoffs, they of course met in the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals, with Washington winning that series and lifting the grand prize.
Caps exceeding expectations
I don’t think many people expected to Caps to be good this season. While it’s still early in the campaign, their 11-4-1 record is definitely promising. Washington is second in the Metropolitan Division and ranks second in the NHL in scoring with 4.19 goals per game. Ovi is still producing at a high rate, scoring 10 goals and assisting 10. Dylan Strome leads the team in points with 24, scoring five and setting up 19.
In fact, the Capitals have seven different players who are in double figures in points. That just goes to show how much depth this squad really has. A pleasant surprise has been Connor McMichael, who has 12 goals. He led the way in the win over Colorado, scoring twice. Jakob Chychrun, Jakub Vrana, and Rasmus Sandin all got on the scoresheet as well. Charlie Lindgren meanwhile made 17 saves on 19 shots. Washington is holding it down defensively too, allowing only 2.88 goals per night. That’s top-10 in the league.
Although the Capitals haven’t played as many games on the road, they own a respectable 4-2-0 record. This upcoming spell on the schedule will be a tough one, with Utah, Colorado, New Jersey, and Florida up next. Washington is a road underdog on Sunday at NHL sportsbooks.
Golden Knights in good shape
Vegas is top dog in the Pacific Division right now with an 11-4-2 record, sitting three points ahead of the LA Kings. Despite the offseason departure of Jonathan Marchessault, the Golden Knights are still managing to produce their fair share of offense. Jack Eichel leads the charge with 27 points, while Mark Stone also has 21.
No one player on the roster is scoring a ton. It’s just a variety of different guys getting the job done on a nightly basis. Pavel Dorofeyev is the leading scorer with nine goals, while Ivan Barbashev has eight. Vegas is fourth in goals with 4.12 per game on 30.4 shots per contest. William Karlsson was the main man the other night in Salt Lake City, scoring twice and providing an assist. Tomas Hertl accounted for the other two goals as well.
The Knights were trailing 2-1 heading into the third period before Vegas scored three unanswered to turn the game right on its head. It was a gritty win for a team that has shown guts through the early stages of the season. Vegas also welcomes any game at home, where they’ve compiled an 8-1-0 record so far. That’s why the hosts are a heavy -135 favorite at Sports Interaction.
