FIVE KEYS TO THE GAME
1 Where are we?
Three games in four nights is not easy for any team, but when the first game of the run was two time zones away, that’s doing no favours to anyone. If the Canucks look tired on Tuesday in Washington, D.C., that will be understandable, given they were in Denver two days before and played in Philadelphia just 24 hours before.
2 Demko disaster
Thatcher Demko is now out with some sort of leg “tweak.” He was injured pre-game in Philadelphia. One assumes he was set to start in Washington, but Jacob Markstrom now will start on back-to-back nights. Michael Di Pietro has been recalled on an emergency basis to serve as backup, since Markstrom and Demko are the only goalies the Canucks currently have on NHL contracts.
3 Great Eight
You may have heard about Alex Ovechkin. The great Russian has 37 goals in 51 games this season. He’s six from 650 for his career.
4 Filling in for Baertschi
Sven Baertschi returned to Vancouver after waking up in Colorado “not feeling well.” On Monday night, Tim Schaller got the first crack at filling in for the smooth Swiss winger. Markus Granlund has had more offensive impact this season, so he could be an option on Bo Horvat’s wing, too.
5 Dialling up Dowd
Nic Dowd played 40 games last season for the Canucks, scoring three goals. He’s now played 40 times for the Caps mostly in a fourth-line role, but has managed five goals and nine assists. With Lars Eller out injured, he’s centring the Caps’ third line.