The Washington Capitals are hosting their 13th annual Salute to the Military Night tonight against the Minnesota Wild at Verizon Center. Salute to the Military Night is an evening dedicated to honoring the men and women who have served the country in the armed forces. During pregame warm-ups, the Capitals will wear camouflage jerseys, which will be signed and auctioned off during the game. The Military District of Washington’s U.S. Army Band Quartet will perform the national anthem and Minnesota’s Zach Parise and Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik will participate in a ceremonial puck drip with United States Army Special Forces Staff Sgt. Michael Davis, captain of the USA Warriors standing team. More than 500 service members will be in attendance at Thursday’s game.
Closing in on Pivonka – Nicklas Backstrom earned two assists on Tuesday at Columbus, tying Alex Ovechkin (416) for second place on the Capitals franchise assist list. Michal Pivonka ranks first on the franchise assist list, earning 418 assists in 825 career games with Washington. Ovechkin has registered 416 assists in 744 career games and Backstrom has earned 416 assists in 560 career games.
The More the Merrier – Alex Ovechkin scored two goals on Tuesday at Columbus, marking 12th multi-goal game of the season and his second consecutive game with two goals (3/1-3/3: 4g, 1a). Ovechkin leads the NHL in multi-goal games this season and Tuesday marked his 97th career multi-goal game. Since 2005-06, the only players who are within 40 of Ovechkin’s multi-goal-game total are Jarome Iginla (66) and Sidney Crosby (59). Ovechkin recorded a career-high 14 multi-goal games during the 2009-10 season, tying Dennis Maruk’s franchise record (1981-82). The Moscow native has earned 17 points in his last 12 games (2/8-3/3: 11g, 6a) and has scored 27 goals in his last 30 games (12/29-3/3: 27g, 12a). Ovechkin leads the NHL in goals (43), power-play goals (19), game-winning goals (10) and shots (320), ranks tied for first in points (67) and ninth in hits (204).
Home Sweet Home – The Capitals begin a season-long five-game home stand on Thursday against the Minnesota Wild. Washington has posted a 7-1-1 record this season in home stands of three games or longer (10/14-10/18: 2-0-1; 11/8-11/14: 2-1-0; 1/10-1/14: 3-0-0). The Capitals have earned a point in 15 of their last 18 home games (12/11-3/1: 13-3-2). Washington has outscored opponents 53-33 during the last 18 home games and is 16 for 60 (26.7%) on the power play and 51 for 59 (86.4%) on the penalty kill. The Capitals rank third in the NHL in home power-play percentage (26.0%), tied for third in home power-play goals (27) and tied for eighth in home goals against (70).
Dynamic Duo – Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom rank tied for first in the NHL in points (67). Ovechkin leads the League in goals (43) and Backstrom leads the NHL in assists (49). Backstrom and Ovechkin have combined to register the most points (134) and goals (61) by any teammates in the NHL this season. Backstrom has earned an assist on 28 of Ovechkin’s 43 goals this season and since Backstrom entered the NHL in 2007-08, he has recorded an assist on 168 of Ovechkin’s 367 goals (45.8%).
Captain Clutch – Alex Ovechkin scored the game-winning goal on Tuesday at Columbus, marking the second consecutive game he has scored the game-winning goal (3/1 vs. TOR). According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this marks the seventh time in Ovechkin’s career he has scored the game-winning goal in two consecutive games and the first time since Oct. 9-11, 2010, in Washington wins at home against New Jersey and Ottawa. The last Washington player to record back-to-back game-winners was Mike Green on April 11-13, 2013. Ovechkin leads the NHL in game-winning goal (10) this season. This season marks the fifth time in his career Ovechkin has scored 10 or more game-winning goals, the most in NHL history. Guy Lafleur and Jeremy Roenick shared the previous mark of four.