Capitals look to build momentum against the Senators

This article was written by WTOP’s news partner, NBC Sports Washington. Sign up for NBC Sports Washington’s free email subscription today.

After their crazy matinee overtime victory over the New York Rangers Sunday, the Washington Capitals will look to win their second straight game when they face the Matt Duchene-less Ottawa Senators Tuesday.

The Senators were busy at the trade deadline, dealing away top producers in Duchene, Ryan Dzingel and Mark Stone. They’ll have to make do with less as they face Washington, who’s been getting production from their star players over their last few games.

Most of the Capitals’ roster is still intact, and new acquisitions Carl Hagelin and Nick Jensen will look to keep adjusting to Washington’s systems as they look to stay in the race for first place in the Metropolitan Division.

Here’s everything you need to know heading into Tuesday’s game:

What: Ottawa Senators at Washington Capitals, Game 64 of the 2018-2019 NHL Regular Season

Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.

When: 7 p.m. ET

TV Channel: The Senators at Capitals game will be broadcast on NBC Sports Washington.

Live Stream: You can live-stream Senators at Capitals on NBC Sports Washington’s live stream page and on the NBC Sports App.

Radio: Caps 24/7 Radio, 106.7 FM

Senators at Capitals TV Schedule:

6:00 p.m. Caps Faceoff Live

6:30 p.m. Caps Pregame Live

7:00 p.m. Senators at Capitals

9:30 p.m. Caps Postgame Live

10:00 p.m. Caps Overtime Live

10:00 p.m. D.C. Sports Live

What to Watch For:

Can Nicklas Backstrom keep the ball rolling? The Swedish center ended a 12-game goalless skid with two tallies in Sunday’s victory over the Rangers. He’s Washington’s second-leading scorer with 58 points on the season, but has points in just three of his last 10 games. Those two goals, though, could ignite a spark as he regains confidence down the stretch.

Andre Burakovsky’s here to stay. The Capitals didn’t deal away any players at the deadline, and despite rumors that have plagued the Swedish forward all season, he’s not leaving Washington. With points in three of his last four games, Burakovsky could finally find consistency with the weight of trade rumors off his shoulders.

Opponents to watch: Brady Tkachuk will have to step up for Ottawa and bring more offense, as they shipped out all three of their top-scoring forwards at the deadline. Will he be able to fill the void? We’ll find out more Tuesday.

Quote of the Day:

“[Last year] we’d have stretches where we’d play really well and then we’d have stretches where we weren’t engaged … the same kind of things are creeping in this year and the hope is we apply the same formula we applied last year and we correct all those things,” general manager Brian MacLellan said in an interview with Rob Carlin during the NBC Sports Washington NHL Trade Deadline special on Monday afternoon.

Stats to know:

Ovechkin has goals in six of his last seven games and leads the NHL with 44 goals.
Senators’ blueliner Thomas Chabot is now Ottawa’s leading scorer with 47 points.

Check out our Capitals’ Podcast:

Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19

MORE CAPITALS NEWS: