Capitals vs. Blackhawks Game Preview

The annual Mentors' Trip is back for its 16th edition, and the traveling party is nearly doubled this weekend. Since it began in 2008, Washington is 20-9-0 in Mentors' Trip games, that's a pretty loud trend.

Friday night brings a rematch at the United Center, and Sunday follows in Nashville, two tests before another long homestand. At 22-16-6 through 44 games, the Caps have won exactly half, and they're 5-7-4 since Dec. 5.

The Dallas Stars ended the homestand Wednesday with a 4-1 win, and the Caps never found their usual zone pressure. Alex Ovechkin's late strike was his 915th career goal, but Spencer Carbery kept circling the same issue, too much play on the perimeter.

You can feel fans get restless when this group settles for one-and-done shots and then has to defend again. Nic Dowd basically called for the long game, more second and third looks in the slot, and that mindset fits perfectly on the road.

The lineup question is health, Pierre-Luc Dubois remains out, and Aliaksei Protas and Tom Wilson both traveled with the group. Carbery said Protas is closer than Wilson, and Bailey Johnson reported Wilson still leads Washington with 22 goals and 42 points.

Chicago has flipped its own vibe, the Blackhawks are 18-18-7 and riding a four-game win streak into Friday. They beat the Caps 3-2 in a shootout last Saturday in D.C., a night Washington slid to 0-5 in shootouts and lost Wilson early.

If Washington wants the script to change, the breakout has to be cleaner, and the forecheck has to turn entries into real middle-lane touches. Against a big Dallas team the puck kept getting ticked away, so expect quicker low-to-high plays and more bodies at the top of the crease.

The Mentors' Trip usually loosens the room, but the real gift would be two disciplined road periods to start, then let the game open up. Win or lose, Friday is a measuring stick, and Sunday in Nashville is next, so the Caps can't wait for chemistry to show up.

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