Game #9: Washington Capitals at Atlanta Thrashers
October 22nd, 2009 by jcgillenWhere: Phillips Arena, Atlanta, GA
When: October 22, 2009 7:00 PM
History:
Caps Record on this Date: 3-4-0-0
Caps Game 9 Record: 14-16-3-1
All-Time vs. ATL: 28-18-5-5
All-Time at ATL: 11-11-2-4
Last Season vs. ATL: 4-2-0
Last Meeting: 4/7/09, WAS 4 ATL 2
This Year:
WAS Record: 4-2-2
Standings Points: 10
Division Rank: 1st
Conference Rank: 3rd
Last Game: 10/17/09, WAS 3 NAS 2 (OT-SO)
Streak: Win 2
ATL Record: 4-1-1
Standings Points: 9
Division Rank: 2nd
Conference Rank: 6th
Last Game: 10/20/09, ATL 1 MON 2 (OT-SO)
Streak: Loss 1
Probable Line-Ups:
Washington
Forward Line 1: 8 OVECHKIN, 9 MORRISON, 22 KNUBLE
Forward Line 2: 21 LAICH, 19 BACKSTROM, 28 SEMIN
Forward Line 3: 16 FEHR, 20 AUCOIN, 17 CLARK
Forward Line 4: 53 LAING, 39 STECKEL, 10 BRADLEY
Defense Pair 1: 26 MORRISONN, 52 GREEN
Defense Pair 2: 23 JURCINA, 3 POTI
Defense Pair 3: 55 SCHULTZ, 2 POTHIER
Goalie: 40 VARLAMOV
Back-up Goalie: 60 THEODORE
Scratch: 92 NYLANDER, 89 SLOAN
Atlanta
Forward Line 1: 17 KOVALCHUK, 80 ANTROPOV, 10 LITTLE
Forward Line 2: 13 KOZLOV, 12 WHITE, 20 ARMSTRONG
Forward Line 3: 9 KANE, 47 PEVERLY, 61 AFINOGENOV
Forward Line 4: 36 BOULTON, 19 REASONER, 27 THORBURN
Defense Pair 1: 6 HAINSEY, 39 ENSTROM
Defense Pair 2: 4 BOGOSIAN, 77 KUBINA
Defense Pair 3: SCHUBERT, SALMELA
Goalie: 31 PAVELEC
Back-up Goalie: 1 HEDBERG
Injuries:
Washington - 14 FLEISCHMANN (blood clot) LTIR, 4 ERSKINE (upper body) DTD, 15 GORDON (back) DTD
Atlanta - 5 VALABIK (ankle) IR, 26 WELCH (knee) IR, 63 SIDDALL (undisclosed) IR, 32 LEHTONEN (back) IR
Caps Milestones:
Tom Poti needs 4 points to reach 300 in his career.
Mike Green needs 5 assists to reach 100 in his career.
Mike Knuble needs 2 penalty minute to reach 500 in his career.
Preview:
After a short home stand where the Caps went 2-0-1, the team heads out on a two game road trip starting in Atlanta. The Thrashers have started off well with a 4-1-1 record and have been getting some outstanding goaltending from young Ondrej Pavelec. This game should be very interesting to watch as the Capitals are trying to develop a finisher’s mentality and this is a game the Caps should win hands down. Watch the play of the forwards coming back in this one. The defense has been stopping the initial rush quite well but the team has been burnt a couple times when the forwards fail to pick up the late guy coming into the zone. Look for Alex Ovechkin to have a big game. He has more goals (23), assists (26), and points (49) against Atlanta than any other team in the NHL. I think this game will be competitive match up with the Russian trying to show each other up but in the end the Caps will prevail with good defensive play.
Joe’s prediction: Caps 5 ATL 2
Posted in Atlanta, Capitals, Preview
One Response to “Game #9: Washington Capitals at Atlanta Thrashers”
By Eric L. on Oct 22, 2009
This is going to be a great game. I bet that most people think the Caps are going to win, but Atlanta’s been playing well this year. As long as both teams show up, it’ll be a good, close game.