The Washington Capitals aim to tie their season-high of five consecutive victories on Tuesday night as they take on top overall draft pick Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, and the young San Jose Sharks.
The Capitals previously achieved five straight wins from October 15-23 and followed their 4-1 triumph over the Florida Panthers on November 25 with three consecutive one-goal games.
Taylor Raddysh scored the decisive goal with 6:06 left in the third period during Washington’s 6-5 victory against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
Defenseman Jakob Chychrun continued his strong performance by netting a power-play goal, marking his fourth game with points (three goals, four assists).
“(Lars Eller had) a great entry. He finds Chych, who’s been on fire lately,” said forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, according to the Washington Post. “We need to keep getting the puck to Chych. That’s key. After that, we just keep moving the puck. It’s tough for the penalty killers when anyone can score.”
A strong power play has bolstered the Capitals, who scored three power-play goals in the second period against the Devils, raising their success rate to 8-for-18 over the last five games. This 44.4 percent conversion rate is particularly notable considering they have been without superstar captain Alex Ovechkin (fractured left fibula) during this time.
“There were many ups and downs in the game, swings in momentum, and emotions for players and coaches alike,” said Capitals coach Spencer Carbery. “For the power play to secure that lead before the second intermission, they really came through.”
Washington’s power play has risen from the bottom of the NHL earlier in the season to 14th place (22.7 percent) ahead of Monday’s games.
Although Ovechkin will not play on Tuesday, he skated for the first time on Monday since his injury, just two weeks after breaking his leg.
The Sharks have rebounded from their third stretch of at least three losses by winning three of their last four games. San Jose followed an 8-5 victory over the Kraken at home with a 4-2 win in Seattle to kick off a six-game road trip.
Smith scored in both matches against the Kraken, extending his goal streak to three games and his point streak to four (three goals, four assists).
“(Smith) is becoming more and more at ease with each game,” said Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky. “The NHL is definitely a faster game. A team can change direction quickly, and while he has areas to improve, I thought he played very comfortably.”
Smith, a rookie with the Sharks, was selected fourth overall in the 2023 draft and played one season at Boston College before making the leap.
Celebrini recorded an assist, extending his own point streak to four games (four goals, three assists). The 18-year-old, who was the first overall pick in the 2024 draft, was named the NHL Rookie of the Month for November after scoring seven goals, including three game-winners, totaling 12 points.
Celebrini is the first Shark to earn this accolade since Tomas Hertl in October 2013.
Mikael Granlund leads the Sharks in goals (10), assists (18), and points (28).
