Garnet Hathaway

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Streaking Flyers closing in on Metro lead

By Scott CharlesMar 4, 2020, 9:52 PM EST

The Philadelphia Flyers moved within one point of the top spot in the Metropolitan Division with a 5-2 win against the Washington Capitals Wednesday.

Kevin Hayes and Ivan Provorov each had a goal and an assist as the Flyers won their seventh straight game. Brian Elliott made 25 saves and picked up his second win this season against the Capitals. Travis Konecny, Tyler Pitlick and Scott Laughton also scored for Philadelphia.

James van Riemsdyk left in the first period after blocking a shot with his right hand and did not return

“I’m not sure the severity of it,” Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault told reporters after the win. “There are different breaks but he took that shot right on the tip there. I’ll find out tomorrow (Thursday) for how long.”

Lars Eller and Garnet Hathaway scored, but Washington fell for the second time in the previous three games. Four points separate the top three teams in the Metro and a slump could cost the Capitals, Flyers or Pittsburgh Penguins home-ice advantage in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Provorov sealed the victory for the Flyers with a wicked wrist shot that sailed past the glove of Braden Holtby in the third period. Jakub Voracek patiently waited at the blueline until the young defenseman was able to join the rush and gave the Flyers a 4-2 lead. Philadelphia leads the NHL with 43 goals scored by defensemen this season.

The Flyers took a 3-1 lead in the second period with consecutive goals by Konecny and Hayes.

Konecny converted on the power play shortly after one of his attempts was waived off following a video review. Provorov took a shot from the point that Holtby couldn’t control and Konecny buried the rebound.

Hayes expanded the Flyers lead when Derek Grant wisely kicked a fluttering puck toward the other side of the crease for the tall center to finish. It was the 23^rd goal and 40^th point of the season for Hayes, his first with Philadelphia after signing a lucrative seven-year deal this summer.

Eller opened the scoring for Washington with a skillful backhand-forehand combination at 14:09 of the first period. Richard Panik and Carl Hagelin assisted on the play.

Hathaway helped the Capitals cut the Flyers’ deficit to 3-2 with a bar-down wrister from just above the crease in the second period.

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Scott Charles is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @ScottMCharles.

WATCH LIVE: Capitals visit Wild on NBCSN

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By Sean LeahyMar 1, 2020, 7:30 PM EST

NBCSN’s coverage of the 2019-20 NHL season continues with Sunday’s matchup between the Washington Capitals and Minnesota Wild. Coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

This is the first of two meetings between these teams this season, facing each other again in Washington on April 2. The Wild won their last meeting against the Caps in March of last season, having lost eight straight games against Washington prior to that win.

Washington is coming off a 3-0 loss at Winnipeg on Thursday, just the second time the Caps have been shut out in this season (3-0 loss at CBJ on Dec 16). Minnesota has won five of their last six games and are currently riding a three-game winning streak. They have scored five-plus goals in each of their last three wins (17 goals total) and are coming off a 5-0 win at Columbus on Friday night. Their 17 goals scored are tied most in a three-game span in franchise history (April 2009).

While the Capitals have 21 road wins this season (second most in NHL) they have lost four straight on the road, being outscored 12-5 in that span. After starting the season 10-1-1 in their first 12 road games, the Caps have fallen back down to earth, now 11-9-0 in their last 20 on the road.

Kevin Fiala leads the Wild with 47 points this season and has had three straight multi-point games. After scoring just nine goals in his first 46 games this season, Fiala now has 10 goals in his last 13. With 19 goals on the year, Fiala is set to hit the 20-goal mark for just the second time in his career (23 goals for Nashville in 2017-18)

After facing Washington, the Wild host the Predators on Tuesday, who currently sit one point above Minnesota in the West. They then go on a three-game California road trip against the three worst teams in the Western Conference.

[COVERAGE BEGINS AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN]

WHAT: Washington Capitals at Minnesota Wild
WHERE: Xcel Energy Center
WHEN: Sunday, March 1, 8 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
LIVE STREAM: You can watch the Capitals-Wild stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

CAPITALS
Alex Ovechkin – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana – Nicklas Backstrom – T.J. Oshie
Carl Hagelin – Lars Eller – Ilya Kovalchuk
Richard Panik – Nic Dowd – Garnet Hathaway

Brenden Dillon – John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov – Michal Kempny
Jonas Siegenthaler – Nick Jensen

Starting goalie: Braden Holtby

WILD
Gerald Mayhew – Eric Staal – Kevin Fiala
Zach Parise – Joel Eriksson Ek – Jordan Greenway
Marcus Foligno – Alex Galchenyuk – Mats Zuccarello
Ryan Donato – Mikko Koivu – Ryan Hartman

Ryan Suter – Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin – Matt Dumba
Brad Hunt – Greg Pateryn

Starting goalie: Alex Stalock

Gord Miller and Pierre McGuire will call the action from Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. Kathryn Tappen will host Sunday night’s studio coverage alongside analysts Anson Carter and Mike Johnson.

WATCH LIVE: Ovechkin continues chase for 700 vs. Canadiens on NBCSN

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By Sean LeahyFeb 20, 2020, 7:00 PM EST

NBCSN’s coverage of the 2019-20 NHL season continues with Thursday’s matchup between the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

Washington hosts Montreal in D.C. tonight in what will be the third and final meeting between the two clubs this season. All eyes will be on Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin as he continues his quest for 700 career goals.

Ovechkin is now goalless in five straight games after registering a hat trick against the Kings on Feb. 4. Of the seven members in the 700-goal club, five players took five games or longer to go from 698 to 700 career goals – Jaromir Jagr (5 games), Marcel Dionne, Wayne Gretzky, Mike Gartner (6 games), and Brett Hull (12 games).

The Capitals have struggled in the midst of Ovechkin’s trek towards 700 goals. For the first time since mid-October, Washington no longer owns at least a share of the Metro Division lead as Pittsburgh now occupies the top spot.

Tuesday afternoon, the Capitals acquired defenseman Brenden Dillon from the San Jose Sharks for a 2020 second round pick (originally acquired from Colorado) and a conditional 2021 third round pick.

Montreal lost 4-3 at Detroit on Tuesday night after blowing a two-goal third period lead. The Habs led 3-1 entering the third and gave up three unanswered goals to pick up their fifth straight loss. To make matters worse, the Red Wings swept the Habs in the regular season (four games) for the first time in franchise history. Four of Detroit’s league-worst 15 wins this season have come against Montreal.

[COVERAGE BEGINS AT 7 P.M. ET ON NBCSN]

WHAT: Montreal Canadiens at Washington Capitals
WHERE: Capital One Arena
WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 20, 7 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
LIVE STREAM: You can watch the Capitals-Canadiens stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

CANADIENS
Tomas Tatar – Philip Danault – Brendan Gallagher
Jonathan Drouin – Nick Suzuki – Joel Armia
Artturi Lehkonen– Max Domi – Ilya Kovalchuk
Paul Byron – Nate Thompson – Nick Cousins

Ben Chiarot – Shea Weber
Brett Kulak – Jeff Petry
Xavier Ouellet – Christian Folin

Starting goalie: Carey Price

CAPITALS
Alex Ovechkin – Nicklas Backstrom – Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana – Evgeny Kuznetsov – T.J. Oshie
Carl Hagelin – Lars Eller – Richard Panik
Travis Boyd – Nic Dowd – Garnet Hathaway

Brenden Dillon – John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov – Nick Jensen
Michal Kempny – Radko Gudas

Starting goalie: Braden Holtby

Joe Beninati and analysts Craig Laughlin and Alan May will have the call from Capital One Arena.

WATCH LIVE: Capitals host Penguins on NBC

By Sean LeahyFeb 2, 2020, 12:00 PM EST

NBC’s coverage of the 2019-20 NHL season continues with Sunday’s matchup between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins. Coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

The top two teams in the Metro Division meet for the first time this season, both coming in off wins on Friday night. This is the latest date of a “first meeting” between these clubs in a non-shortened season. Sunday’s game is exactly four months since opening night of the NHL season.

Pittsburgh heads to D.C. following an OT win over their cross-state rival Flyers on Friday. After falling behind 1-0 in the first period, the Pens scored 3 straight goals to take a 3-1 lead before allowing Philadelphia to come back and tie the game at three. In overtime, captain Sidney Crosby came through with the game-winning goal just 55 seconds into the extra period.

As for the Capitals, they’ll return home after a 5-3 win in Ottawa on Friday. After jumping out to an early 2-0 lead thanks goals from T.J. Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington was able to keep the Senators at bay despite Ottawa cutting the lead to one goal on three separate occasions. The Caps have now won five of their last six games (5-1-0).

Alex Ovechkin continued his goal-scoring tear on Friday, scoring twice more to pass Mark Messier for eighth on the all-time goal list. Ovechkin now has 695 goals, five away from becoming just the eighth player in NHL history to reach 700 career goals. Ovechkin now needs 200 goals to pass Wayne Gretzky for most in NHL history.

Ovi has been incredible in recent weeks, scoring 11 goals over his last five games. He had eight in the final three games before the bye week and All-Star break. Then, after serving his 1-game suspension for skipping the All-Star Game, he has come back with three goals in the last two games. His 13 goals in January led the NHL for the month.

[COVERAGE BEGINS AT 12:30 P.M. ET ON NBC]

WHAT: Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals
WHERE: Capital One Arena
WHEN: Sunday, Feb. 2, 12:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
LIVE STREAM: You can watch the Penguins-Capitals stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

PENGUINS
Jared McCann – Sidney Crosby – Dominik Simon
Bryan Rust – Evgeni Malkin – Patric Hornqvist
Zach Aston-Reese – Teddy Blueger – Brandon Tanev
Alex Galchenyuk – Andrew Agozzino – Anthony Angello

Jack Johnson – Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson – John Marino
Chad Ruhwedel – Justin Schultz

Starting goalie: Matt Murray

CAPITALS
Alex Ovechkin – Nicklas Backstrom – Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana – Evgeny Kuznetsov – T.J. Oshie
Carl Hagelin – Lars Eller – Richard Panik
Brendan Leipsic – Nic Dowd – Garnet Hathaway

Michal Kempny – John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov – Nick Jensen
Jonas Siegenthaler – Radko Gudas

Starting goalie: Ilya Samsonov

Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Brian Boucher will have the call from Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. Sunday’s studio coverage on NBC will be hosted by Liam McHugh with analysts Keith Jones and Mike Milbury.

Predators vs. Capitals livestream: How to watch Wednesday Night Hockey

By Sean LeahyJan 29, 2020, 6:30 PM EST

NBCSN’s coverage of the 2019-20 NHL season continues with the Wednesday Night Hockey matchup between the Nashville Predators and Washington Capitals. Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

Washington entered its bye week on a 3-game win streak and came out of All-Star Weekend with a 4-2 victory at Montreal on Monday, without captain Alex Ovechkin, and continues to pace the NHL with 73 points through 50 games. Nashville also had its bye week lead directly into All-Star Weekend and the Central-Division bottom-dwellers lost on Monday against Toronto, 5-2, for its third loss in the last four games.

Despite pulling up the rear in their division, the Predators are only six points out of the Wild Card as they look to continue their playoff appearance streak – which is the longest active in the Western Conference. Nashville’s current playoff streak started in recently fired Peter Laviolette’s first season at the helm after the Predators did not renew Barry Trotz’s contract after the 2013-14 season.

After sitting out Monday due to a league-imposed one-game suspension for opting to skip All-Star Weekend (Ovechkin was voted by the fans as an All-Star captain), the 34-year-old will return as he looks to build upon his goal total, which is up to 34 this season (third in NHL).

Despite leading Nashville to the playoffs in each of his first five seasons, the sluggish start to the 2019-20 season was enough for the Predators to move on from Peter Laviolette, their second-ever head coach, and bring in John Hynes, whose head coaching experience consisted of leading the Devils for four-plus seasons (2015-16 to 2019-20) before being fired on December third after New Jersey lost 17 of its first 26 games.

[COVERAGE BEGINS AT 6:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN]

WHAT: Nashville Predators at Washington Capitals
WHERE: Capital One Arena
WHEN: Wednesday, Jan. 29, 6:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
LIVE STREAM: You can watch the Predators-Capitals stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

PREDATORS
Calle Jarnkrok – Ryan Johansen – Austin Watson
Filip Forsberg – Matt Duchene – Mikael Granlund
Rocco Grimaldi – Nick Bonino – Viktor Arvidsson
Colin Blackwell – Kyle Turris – Craig Smith

Roman Josi – Yannick Weber
Mattias Ekholm – Dante Fabbro
Dan Hamhuis – Jarred Tinordi

Starting goalie: Juuse Saros

Michal Kempny – John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov – Nick Jensen
Jonas Siegenthaler – Radko Gudas

Starting goalie: Braden Holtby

Liam McHugh will host Wednesday’s coverage on NHL Live alongside analysts Anson Carter and Keith Jones and NHL insider Bob McKenzie. Mike Tirico will handle play-by-play duties for Caps-Preds on Wednesday Night Hockey alongside analyst Mike Milbury and ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst Brian Boucher from Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.