It’s been a horrid start to the season for the Capitals, who sit at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division with a 1-2-0 record and just four goals scored. Only the Kraken have potted less while playing in as many games. A fair bit of this poor performance has been precipitated by the unusual early-season struggles of captain Alex Ovechkin – as multiple people have pointed out over the last 12 hours, Ovechkin has now failed to record a shot on goal in back-to-back contests for the first time in his 19-season, 1,350-game NHL career.
- Senators head coach D.J. Smith does not believe defenseman Artem Zub will be out long-term after taking a puck to the jaw in last night’s win against the Capitals. Early in the third period, a shot close in from Ovechkin rocketed up Zub’s stick and hit him in the face, a concerning incident for a player who missed 12 games last season with a broken jaw. Zub has been outstanding in the early going, recording a goal and two assists in four contests and laying a team-high eight hits. The Sens are on a decisive three-game win streak, outscoring opponents by 11 goals in the process. Possession numbers suggest some team-wide regression may be incoming, but it’s a huge improvement over their poor starts to the past few campaigns, derailing hope and chemistry while trying to return to the playoff picture.