The Silver Shield, Vol. 4: Dominance in D.C.

“The Silver Shield” is a column by Kasey Kazliner about the National Hockey League.

Washington is winning

While the Washington Capitals are usually a perennial playoff contender, they failed to qualify for the postseason last season for the first time since 2014. However, the Caps’ resurgence this season may be proving that last year’s blunder was a fluke. Washington has been winners in its last five contests, has only one regulation loss in its last 10 games and only trails the electric New York Rangers in the Metropolitan Division. The Capitals’ win streak included a shutout over the dominant Vegas Golden Knights.

Left wing and future hall-of-famer Alex Ovechkin leads the Capitals in points and has looked to have found his groove again after having a down year in 2022-23. The 38-year old has recorded a point in over half of his team’s games, despite slumping on the power play unit. Ovechkin has shared the puck well and has a chance to add to his accolades if he can lead a rebounding Caps team back to the playoffs.

With 827 career goals, the second-most all-time, don’t be surprised if Ovechkin can lower the 67-goal margin between him and Wayne Gretzky for the throne.

Centerman Dylan Strome is Washington’s goal leader with eight, and he also leads the team in plus/minus at plus-4. Strome has recorded points in the Capitals’ last three games, including the overtime winner against the Sabres, the first of his career. The center also set up Tom Wilson with a nice dish to send the game to overtime with just over a minute remaining.

Strome has been a reliable top-six forward and is grabbing the attention of Washington fans in just his second season with the team. He also leads the Caps in shot percentage at 23.5%, indicating his solid offensive navigation thus far. Strome played the most games of his career last season (81) and had career-highs in both goals and assists. The future is bright for the 26-year old.

Defenseman John Carlson has been another Capital to keep eyes on. Carlson has generated chances with 10 assists including two in Washington’s gritty win over Buffalo.

Darcy Kuemper has been the Capitals’ go-to option in net but has been inconsistent in nine games played. Charlie Lindgren, who has only played five games but has a stout goals against average of 2.01, has proven himself so far. Lindgren struggled last season, so Capitals fans should hope for the goalie situation to become more stable as the season progresses.

The Capitals look like a solid team, but they also play in a tight division. Only four points separate them and the seventh-place Devils, showing the competitiveness of the Metro. Washington will hope to create some separation in the division in the next stretch, which consists of five consecutive Pacific opponents.

The Capitals will host the Edmonton Oilers in D.C. on Friday.

Prosperity for Pavs

Joe Pavelski might be one of the oldest players in the NHL at 39, but he is playing like he’s 25 and in his prime. Pavelski is the Dallas Stars’ points and goals leader, and he has played a huge part in the team’s division-leading success.

The center hasn’t notched more than 30 goals since 2017-18 but very well could find these numbers again this season if he keeps up his stellar play. Pavelski has recorded at least one point in Dallas’ last five games and has been accurate shooting the puck.

The Stars only have one regulation loss in November and just four on the season, which is tied for the lowest in the Western Conference. Dallas had a great regular season last year but unfortunately fell one point short of the Avalanche for the division title. The Stars would later be stunned by the Kraken in the second round, a team playing in just its second playoff series ever.

While gaining ground on the Avalanche will be tough, if Dallas can win the Central Division, I could see them making a deep run, possibly even to the Stanley Cup Final. With a hot start from Pavelski, as well as solid showings from Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson, Dallas’ lines look deep top-to-bottom and capable of reaching the promised lands once again.

The Dallas Stars will look to keep up their winning ways against the Flames at home on Friday.

Winter Classic uniforms revealed for the NHL’s two newest teams

The NHL’s second outdoor game of the season is just around the corner. On New Year’s Day, the Kraken will take on the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Park, home of MLB’s Seattle Mariners.

Whenever the matchups for the outdoor games are announced, fans immediately speculate what each team’s specialty uniform will look like. Seattle and Vegas got creative for theirs. While both expansion teams are basically brand-new, they both unveiled fauxback uniforms that imagined what both the Kraken and Golden Knights would’ve looked like if they existed in the early-20th century.

On January 1 of next year, the Kraken will don unique multicolored jerseys that pay tribute to the Seattle Metropolitans, the first team from the United States to ever win the Stanley Cup in 1917. Personally, I love these jerseys. The combination of past history combined with Kraken’s modern two-tone blue color combination looks amazing. The uniform’s red numbers and monochromatic Kraken “S” logo contrast nicely from the other colors. The alternating stripes are strange, but you just can’t question the logic of uniform designers from a hundred years ago. The Kraken stayed consistent with the Metropolitans’ design but added a new, modernized flair.

Unlike the Kraken, the Golden Knights didn’t have a historic team to reference for their uniform. Instead, Vegas kept things simple and revealed a white, gold and gray uniform. The “V’ for Vegas in the middle is complemented with a Fleur-de-lis motif, and the uniform itself pays tribute to the old West origins of the city. With such an iconic brand like the Golden Knights, I thought that they could’ve done a bit better. The jerseys are simple and don’t have a lot going on. The NHL’s outdoor games provide opportunities for teams to experiment on a blank canvas, so I wish that they had a bit more detail. Nonetheless, Vegas will still be looking sharp come January.

“The Silver Shield” runs every Thursday.