Coyotes/Capitals – Preview – I hear this Ovechkin kid is pretty good!
Phoenix Coyotes (32 – 12 – 6 – 70 pts) vs. Washington Capitals (29 – 17 – 5 – 63 pts)
Verizon Center – Washington, D.C.
January 23th, 2010 – Puck drops at 5:00 PM AZ Time
NHL Center Ice/Game Center (No Local TV) – Radio: XTRA – 910 AM
Game is available to veiw online (for free via Yahoo!)
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/hockeynight/2010012323
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Recent records:
Last five games:
Capitals: 5 – 0 – 0
Coyotes: 3 – 2 – 0
Last ten games:
Capitals: 8 – 2 – 0
Coyotes: 4 – 4 – 2
| Point Leaders | |
| Capitals | Ovechkin(68), Backstrom(56), Green(50) |
| Coyotes | Doan(34), Lombardi(32) , Vrbata(30) |
| Goal Leaders | |
| Capitals | Ovechkin(68), Backstrom(56), Semin(20) |
| Coyotes | Upshall(17), Vrbata(16), Doan(14), |
| Assists Leaders | |
| Capitals | Green(38), Ovechkin(36), Backstrom(35), |
| Coyotes | Lombardi(23), Doan(20), Jovanovski(18) |
The Coyotes embark on a quick two game road trip beginning tonight in the Nation’s capital to take on the RED HOT Washington Capitals.
The Capitals are 8-2 in their last 10 games and have won their last five straight. They are a very strong team offensively as you can see from the scoring leaders for the Caps above. However, like the Devils, their scoring trails off after their second line. Shut down these lines and it will tip the scales in the Coyotes favor.
The Coyotes are coming off a pretty good win against the Predators the other night even though they allowed over 40 shots on Bryzgalov. The Coyotes have the ability to beat the Caps in their own barn if they can play some tight defensive hockey.
The Coyotes schedule to the Olympic break is a pretty tough one and it starts tonight against one of the top teams in the East. The Coyotes haven’t fared pretty with a 6-5-1 record but given their success on the road, they can come out on top.
Things to keep an eye on:
Capitals First line – Like the Devils, the Caps have some pretty brutal top two lines that can score on you at will if you’re not on your game.
Coyotes in their defensive zone – Keep an eye on how they match up with the Coyotes scoring threats and if they can limit shooting lanes on the Caps
Keys to the game:
Limit the Caps shooting lanes – The Coyotes may have beaten the Predators but they allowed over 40 shots on Bryzgalov. This is unacceptable against the Caps forwards.
Shut down the caps top two lines – As stated above, if the Caps top two lines can be shut down by the Coyotes, the advantage in the game will go to the Coyotes.
Take advantage of the Eastern Conference Defense – In the Eastern Conference, the style of defense is that it’s merely a suggestion. Look for mismatches and weakenesses then exploit them.
Game Notes
- Game is available online at Yahoo! http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/hockeynight/2010012323
- John Erskine will play tonight (via Tarik El-Bashir – Caps Beat Writer)
- Mike Greene is back in the lineup tonight (via Tarik El-Bashir – Caps Beat Writer)
- According to the Caps Pre-game reports backup golatender Michal Neuvirth will start for the Caps tonight
Officials:
Referees – 7-Bill McCreary, 41-Chris Ciamaga
Linesmen – 77-Tim Nowak, 59-Steve Barton
Injuries/Scratches:
Coyotes: Daniel Winnik, Kurt Sauer
Capitals: Tyler Sloan, Quintin Laing, Brian Pothier, Semyon Varlamov
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