Cold Game – It’s rarely warm in Winnipeg at this time of year, even with the onset of winter still on the horizon. But as they open a two-game road trip against a pair of Central Division opponents tonight in Manitoba’s capital city against the Winnipeg Jets, the Caps are looking to extend a hot spell that started four weeks ago.
Beginning with a 3-2 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils in DC on Nov. 15, the Capitals have pulled at least a point from 13 of their last 14 games (10-1-3), and all 10 of their victories were achieved in regulation over that span.
The Caps strong stretch has included the road, where they are 4-0-1 in their last five games entering tonight’s tilt with the Jets. All five of those games were played against teams currently in a playoff position.
Washington’s nine-game point streak (7-0-2) is its longest of the season, the Caps’ goal differential of plus-27 is second best in the NHL, as is their plus-34 differential at 5-on-5. The Caps have claimed 17 of their 18 wins in regulation, tied for the second most in the circuit.
First Glimmer – Caps right wing Bogdan Trineyev makes his NHL debut tonight in Winnipeg against the Jets. The 23-year-old native of Voronezh, Russia was the Capitals’ fourth-round choice (117th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft.
The 6-foot-3, 206-pound winger is in the third season of his three-year entry level contract, and he has played 143 games scattered across four seasons in the AHL, totaling 29 goals and 21 assists for 50 points along with 32 PIM. He was a member of Hershey’s most recent Calder Cup championship squad in 2023-24.
With the Bears this season, he has six goals and a dozen points in 16 games. Most recently, he had been playing on a line with Ivan Miroshnichenko and Ilya Protas.
“Just be himself,” says Caps coach Spencer Carbery, asked what he told the rookie winger. “I told him yesterday the plan was for him to play tonight and to get his first NHL game. And he's done a great job inside the organization had a great start in Hershey. Our player development coaches rave about just his overall 200-foot game and how well he's played in the American Hockey League.
“I know he's been up here for a while, so it's kind of been him patiently waiting for an opportunity to get into the lineup. He will tonight, and that's a lifelong goal of his, and so just go out there and be yourself. Go compete your butt off and don't worry about making mistakes. Just go and be yourself, play your game.
Trineyev was impressive in three preseason showings with Washington in September, and he scored a goal in Boston in the first of those three games.
“I would say this [2025] camp was better than his first,” says Carbery. “I think the language barrier and just feeling completely comfortable in training camp has been a challenge for Bogdan, because you've heard about him. He had a good first year, [wins] the Calder Cup, comes back, and you're like, ‘Okay.’ And then this year he was better. I don't think it was to the level that he's capable of in training camp. But again, he got off to a really good start in the AHL.
“And this happened with Ethen Frank, which is an interesting point that I didn't really think about. Sometimes some guys in training camp, there's 60 guys, there's all this stuff happening, and they get lost in the shuffle a little bit, or they don't feel completely comfortable. Then they come up when it's just the NHL and it's 23 [players] just like Ethen Frank did last year. He didn't have a great camp, came up [to the NHL] and was fantastic when there's 23 guys around, not 60.
“So hopefully for Bogdan, coming up here and just being comfortable with the group, being able to communicate more on a personal level with him and the coaches and be clear with you know, expectations and systems and all that stuff, hopefully that helps them set him up for success.”
Trineyev becomes the first Capital to make his NHL debut this season, and the first since Ryan Leonard on April 1.
“For me, everything helped,” he says of reaching and playing in the NHL. “Staying here helped me, because we have good development and training camp, and good development coaches in Hershey. I think everything helped me.”
Homecoming – Caps defenseman Dylan McIlrath was born in Winnipeg some 33 years ago, and he was raised there as well, mostly in the days between the two different NHL Jets franchises. The first of those franchises was absorbed from the long defunct World Hockey Association into the NHL in 1979-80, and it remained there before moving to Phoenix, Az. in 1996-97. That franchise now resides in Salt Lake City and is known as the Utah Mammoth.
The current Jets came to town in 2011-12, moving north after beginning its NHL life as the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999-00. The current Jets arrived soon after McIlrath was drafted by the New York Rangers in the first round of the 2010 NHL Draft.
When McIlrath was a young Winnipeg lad, the AHL Manitoba Moose was the pro game in town, and they commanded the attention of the local hockey faithful – and they still do – prior to the Jets’ arrival.
“I wasn’t pro yet, but I had just gotten drafted,” McIlrath recalls. “Not having the NHL team, I would always stay up late and try to watch the Oilers and Canucks and Flames when I was growing up. Those were my guys, Jarome Iginla, Markus Naslund, Todd Bertuzzi, that era of players.
“And then [in 2001-02], the Moose became our local team, and that became the NHL to us. I grew up watching a lot of AHL hockey. I got to see Mike Keane be the captain there for years and they became a big part of the community. The grassroots stuff of being involved with the Manitoba Moose was really special.
“And obviously, the city was just dying to get an NHL team for years after they lost them, and I remember when they announced that they were coming back – after I was drafted – there was a big street party at [the corner of] Portage and Main, and I went with all my buddies. I was just excited for the city, not necessarily excited for the other organization, but excited for the city, because it had gone through some hard times over the years.”
Yesterday – Dec. 12 – was the 12th anniversary of McIlrath’s NHL debut with the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He was 21 at the time.
“That brings back good memories,” says McIlrath. “I remember that day. I remember my whole family flying in. And my girlfriend at the time – my wife now – her family came, too. That was a special one at MSG.”
These days, McIlrath gets to Winnipeg once a season and the luster of returning home never fades.
“It’s special,” he says. “I still remember my first time, and I remember buying 20-30 tickets for all my family and friends, and it was a big special moment. I’ve been fortunate enough that that’s one of the places I’ve been able to play a few times, and with three or four teams even.
“It’s always really fun going back, and I have fond memories of the early days when my grandma was still alive and she was able to go. I think all my friends have season tickets now, so they’re Jets fans, but they come root for me for one game. It’s just always a nice feeling coming back.”
A Thousand Times – Jets winger Nino Niederreiter hits the 1,000-game plateau for his NHL career tonight, becoming the first Swiss native to achieve that milestone in League history. Drafted fifth overall by the New York Islanders in the 2010 NHL Draft, Niederreiter was a month and a day beyond his 18th birthday when he debuted with the Isles on Oct. 9, 2010.
Two games later in Washington, Niederreiter netted his first NHL goal in a 2-1 loss to the Capitals, victimizing Michal Neuvirth at 3:14 of the first period, with help from Doug Weight and Michael Grabner. Of the 38 players who skated in that game for both teams that night, only Niederreiter, Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson remain active in the NHL.
With a single assist from Nicklas Backstrom, Ovechkin scored the tying goal late in the second period of that game more than 15 years ago. On a Washington power play with 3:39 remaining in the third period of that contest, Backstrom scored the game-winner with help from Ovechkin and Carlson, enabling Neuvirth to pick up the win over New York netminder Dwayne Roloson.
Congratulations to Niederreiter on a fine and prosperous NHL career.
Plead The Fifth – Over their previous five games, the Capitals achieved a rather remarkable and way under the radar feat never before matched in franchise history, and this esoteric achievement was unearthed by Washington assistant general manager Don Fishman and verified by NHL Stats.
In the Caps’ previous five games, they’ve had five different backup goaltenders: Charlie Lindgren on Dec. 2 against the Kings, Logan Thompson on Dec. 3 against the Sharks, Parker Milner on Dec. 5 against the Ducks, Clay Stevenson on Dec. 7 against the Blue Jackets and Garin Bjorklund on Dec. 11 vs. the Hurricanes.
Believe it or not, that’s not the NHL record.
From April 4-13, 2023, the Toronto Maple Leafs used six different backup goaltenders across as many games. No NHL team has ever used a different backup in seven or more consecutive games.
Those six backup Toronto netminders in order were: Ilya Samsonov, Joseph Woll, Jett Alexander, Nick Chenard, Matt Onuska and Samuel Richard. Only Alexander saw NHL action; he entered the game in relief of Samonsov with the Leafs leading 7-1 and logged 70 seconds between the pipes without facing a shot.
In The Nets – Thompson’s three highest single-game workloads this season have come in his last three starts. He faced 38 shots on Dec. 5 in Anaheim, 39 shots two nights later at home against Columbus, and 39 shots again on Thursday against Carolina. Prior to those three starts, he had not faced as many as 35 shots since an Oct. 24 start against the Blue Jackets in Columbus.
Thompson stopped 111 of those 116 shots (.957 save pct.) in his last three starts. In his last seven starts, he is 5-0-2 with a shutout, a 1.40 GAA and a .954 save pct.
Lifetime against Winnipeg, Thompson is 3-1-2 in seven appearances (six starts) with a 3.21 GAA and an .896 save pct.
Winnipeg hasn’t officially identified its starting goaltender for tonight’s game, but the tea leaves seem to indicate a return to the crease for Connor Hellebuyck, who underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his knee about three weeks ago. If he returns tonight, Hellebuyck will be making his first start since Nov. 15 and he will be doing so ahead of schedule. The Jets are 3-8-1 since Hellebuyck’s last start.
On the season, Hellebuyck is 8-6-0 with a 2.51 GAA and a .913 save pct. Lifetime against the Capitals, he is 7-5-2 with a pair of shutouts, a 2.33 GAA and a .921 save pct. in 14 appearances, all starts.
All Down The Line – Here’s how the Capitals and the Jets might look on Saturday night in Winnipeg:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
72-Beauvillier, 17-Strome, 8-Ovechkin
21-Protas, 34-Sourdif, 43-Wilson
24-McMichael, 29-Lapierre, 53-Frank
22-Duhaime, 26-Dowd, 87-Trineyev
Defensemen
42-Fehervary, 74-Carlson
6-Chychrun, 3-Roy
38-Sandin, 57-van Riemsdyk
Goaltenders
48-Thompson
79-Lindgren
Healthy Extras
15-Milano
47-Chisholm
52-McIlrath
Injured/Out
9-Leonard (upper body)
80-Dubois (lower body)
WINNIPEG
Forwards
81-Connor, 55-Scheifele, 9-Iafallo
91-Perfetti, 7-Namestnikov, 13-Vilardi
62-Niederreiter, 17-Lowry, 45-Koepke
36-Barron, 19-Toews, 14-Nyquist
Defensemen
44-Morrissey, 2-DeMelo
54-Samberg, 5-Pionk
64-Stanley, 5-Schenn
Goalies
37-Hellebuyck
1-Comrie
50-DiVincentiis
Healthy Extras
6-Miller
70-Pearson
Injured/Out
24-Fleury (concussion)
