Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Battle of the Scorers in Washington as Brock Boeser faces Alex Ovechkin

January 9, 2018, 2:07 PM ET [459 Comments]
Carol Schram
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Tuesday January 9 - Vancouver Canucks at Washington Capitals - 4 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet 650

Vancouver Canucks: 42 GP, 16-20-6, 38 pts, seventh in Pacific Division
Washington Capitals: 42 GP, 26-13-3, 55 pts, first in Metropolitan Division

Remember all the doom and gloom last summer when the Washington Capitals started gutting their lineup after yet another second-round playoff loss? How the Caps' window had closed after players like Justin Williams, Marcus Johansson, Kevin Shattenirk, Karl Alzner and Nate Schmidt moved on?

Don't look now, but the Caps are riding a four-game winning streak and tied with Winnipeg with a league-best 7-1-2 record over their last 10 games as the prepare to face the Vancouver Canucks tonight at what is now known as Capital One Arena.

The Caps have taken over top spot in the competitive Metropolitan Division—two points ahead of the slumping Columbus Blue Jackets, with games in hand. That means Barry Trotz is headed back to this year's All-Star Game as the Metro coach after assuming the same duties back in 2016, when he won his first of two straight Presidents' Trophies with Washington.

Also on the All-Star front, the NHL plans to announce the 40 players that will round out its 3-on-3 squads this Wednesday. Each team should have a representative. After Bo Horvat's selection last year, it would be amazing if Bock Boeser made the cut as a rookie. I'd love to see him in the shooting accuracy contest!

Boeser has certainly done his bit to try to keep the Canucks afloat since Horvat was injured in early December.




Since Horvat went down, Boeser has nine goals and 15 points in 14 games. That tied him for second in goal-scoring during that time—though leader Patrice Bergeron (11) and the four players he's tied with (Anders Lee, Eric Staal, Sean Couturier and Evgeni Malkin) have all played more games.

Where's Ovi, you ask? He has also played 14 games and has 7-10-17.

With the Tampa Bay Lightning on a bit of a mid-season skid, Ovechkin has now caught Nikita Kucherov for the league lead with 27 goals and is poised to take a run at his seventh career Rocket Richard trophy. Boeser comes into tonight's game tied for fifth with William Karlsson of Vegas and John Tavares of the Islanders.

When the Canucks laid the smack down on the Caps with their 6-2 win at Rogers Arena back in October, Boeser had three assists, compared to one goal for Ovechkin. Who will come out on top in the scoring sweepstakes tonight?

Now winless in their last four games, Travis Green is making some tweaks to his lineup tonight in hopes of igniting a spark.

Chris Tanev did take the morning skate tonight, but isn't expected back in the lineup quite yet:




I'm not sure if it's the cage that makes Tanev look unrecognizable, or those chipmunk cheeks. #swelling

Green is making one switch on the blue line, subbing in Alex Biega for Derrick Pouliot.




Up front, Nikolay Goldobin is in for Brendan Gaunce, and will likely slot back in with the Sedins.

It'll be Goldy's first time suiting up against the Great 8.




Jacob Markstrom will return to the net tonight after a one-game absence.

As for the Caps, they're healthy—but will start Philipp Grubauer in net after Braden Holtby was pulled after giving up five goals on 22 shots in Vancouver back in October. After a strong campaign in 2016-17, Grubauer has struggled this year, with a 2-5-3 record, 2.70 GAA and .909 save percentage, but he stopped all 37 shots he faced in his last outing—Washington's 1-0 shootout loss to the New York Rangers back on December 27.

Meanwhile, not surprisingly, the Erik Gudbranson trade chatter is starting to pick up after Don Cherry's endorsement on Coach's Corner last Saturday.




Guddy said all the right things about keeping his focus on the Canucks when he spoke to Luke Fox of Sportsnet in Toronto last weekend.

“We’re together every single day. There’s a much bigger picture I’m worried about, and that’s winning hockey games. I’m able to compartmentalize (the trade talk).”

Finally today, we have an update from Sweden on Jonathan Dahlen.




Considering how short the Utica Comets are on offensive players now, I wonder if there's any regret about having let Dahlen return to Sweden rather than sticking around to play in the AHL this season. After having apparently recovered nicely from his offseason bout of mono, Dahlen leads Timra with 16 goals and 30 points in 26 games.

After these next four games, he's looking at a move from Tier II up to a top-level SHL team.




Farjestads is currently tied for fourth in the SHL standings, well behind Elias Petterson's league-leading Vaxjo Lakers. Their current leading goal-scorer is an undrafted 23-year-old named Michael Lindqvist, who has 20 goals and 33 points in 30 games.

Enjoy the game!
Join the Discussion: » 459 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Carol Schram
» Winning Canucks send down Podkolzin, Rathbone as homestand begins
» Power-play fuels big win in Vegas as Canucks look to sweep 3-game road trip
» The Canucks' position at U.S. Thanksgiving, following a big win in Denver
» Trade winds blow as the Canucks kick off road trip against the Avalanche
» Podkolzin returns as Canucks host Vegas amidst Horvat, Myers trade rumours