Friday’s game between the Red Wings and Washington Capitals (7:30 PM EST start on Bally Sports Detroit/NBCS Washington/97.1 FM) is over 24 hours away, but the Associated Press has already posted a bare-bones game preview of tomorrow night’s affair:
BOTTOM LINE: The Washington Capitals visit Detroit after Dylan Larkin scored three goals in the Red Wings’ 5-2 win against the Devils.
The Red Wings are 9-7-2 in conference matchups. Detroit ranks ninth in the Eastern Conference recording 7.7 points per game, averaging 2.8 goals and 4.9 assists.
The Capitals are 12-4-3 in Eastern Conference play. Washington leads the Eastern Conference with five shorthanded goals, led by Evgeny Kuznetsov with two.
In their last meeting on Nov. 11, Washington won 2-0.
TOP PERFORMERS: Tyler Bertuzzi leads the Red Wings with a plus-12 in 23 games this season. Moritz Seider has seven assists over the last 10 games for Detroit.
Nick Jensen leads the Capitals with a plus-20 in 31 games this season. Alex Ovechkin has three goals and eight assists over the last 10 games for Washington.
LAST 10 GAMES: Red Wings: 6-4-0, averaging 2.9 goals, 4.8 assists, 2.8 penalties and 6.5 penalty minutes while giving up 3.1 goals per game with a .903 save percentage.
Capitals: 5-3-2, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.6 assists, 3.6 penalties and 8.9 penalty minutes while giving up three goals per game with a .903 save percentage.
