WASHINGTON AT COLORADO, 7 p.m. Thursday, ALT, 950 AM
Spotlight on: Alex Ovechkin. With the first of his eight shots Tuesday at Nashville, the Capitals captain surprised Joe Sakic for 11th place on the all-time shots list. Ovechkin now has 4,629 shots; Sakic, the Avalanche’s general manager, finished his Hockey Hall of Fame career with 4,621. Ovechkin’s 4.92 shots per game ranks first all-time among players with at least 50 games played, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Of the NHL’s top 25 in shots taken, only Ovechkin, Phil Esposito and Bobby Hull have averaged more than four shots per game. Ovechkin, who has 571 career goals, is just three shy of tying Mike Bossy for 21st place all-time.
BUY TICKETS:
NOTEBOOK:
Capitals: They’re coming off a 6-3 loss at Nashville on Tuesday and practiced Wednesday at the Pepsi Center. The Caps, who are 7-2-1 when they have one day off between games, are on a two-game road trip. … Washington went 2-0 against Colorado last season and is on a six-game winning streak in the series. The Caps were 11-2-1 against the Central Division last season. … Defenseman Matt Niskanen returned to the lineup Tuesday after missing 13 games with a thumb injury.
Avalanche: Newcomer Vladislav Kamenev, who was recalled from San Antonio of the American Hockey League on Tuesday after being acquired from Nashville in the Nov. 4 trade involving Matt Duchene, will make his club debut and center a line with Sven Andrighetto and Russian countryman Nail Yakupov. Kamenev, 21, who has played just two career NHL games — both with the Predators last season — doesn’t speak English but Yakupov helped him indirectly answer questions Wednesday. “The trade’s better for him,” Yakupov said, in response if he’s happy to be in Colorado. “Itap a good opportunity for him to be here with the young guys and he’s looking forward to being here.” … Center Tyson Jost, who has missed the last eight games with a second lower-body injury, has been cleared to practice but isn’t ready to play in a game, coach Jared Bednar said. Jost will be scratched along with forward Gabriel Bourque and defensemen Chris Bigras and Andrei Mironov. … Center Carl Soderberg’s wife Caroline gave birth to the couple’s second child, a boy, last week when the Avs were in Sweden. Soderberg did not travel with the team to his homeland so he could be with his wife. … Semyon Varlamov will start in goal.
