The Capitals will look to keep trending in the right direction against Ottawa, as Jakob Chychrun makes his return for the first time since being traded.

As we pass the midway point of the 2024-25 NHL regular season, a trending topic in hockey circles is who fans and pundits would give their midseason awards to.

In the fourteenth weekly Metropolitan Division snapshot, the division had a combined four regulation losses. The Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Islanders even got hot. All this and more in this week’s snapshot.

The consensus player to watch for the Capitals is Alex Ovechkin, as he continues to chase Wayne Gretzky’s record for the most goals in NHL history. Showing no signs of slowing down the 39-year-old is scoring at a ridiculous rate with 19 goals in 25 games this season and is now just 23 tallies shy of making NHL history.

Alex Tuch scored twice, JJ Peterka had the deciding goal in the shootout and the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Washington Capitals 4-3 on on Monday night.

Peterka's 23:37 of ice time was the most that he's played in his 200 NHL games. The winger totaled five shots on goal with eight shot attempts, and he had two assists.

The Capitals are ‘just a little off’ and drop a 4-3 shootout loss on the road against the team with the fewest points in the Eastern Conference.

(AP Photo/John McDonnell) Washington Capitals center Aliaksei Protas (21 ... (AP Photo/John McDonnell) Washington Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun (6) collides with New York Rangers center Sam Carrick (39) during the third period of an NHL hockey ...

The Washington Capitals are back home for one more game before. a lengthy road trip, and it's a big one as they face off against the rival Pittsburgh Penguins. Here's everything to know before puck drop at 7 p.

The Capitals are shaking things up on the top-6, with Pierre-Luc Dubois replacing Dylan Strome as Alex Ovechkin's center. Connor McMichael and Tom Wilson will play between Strome, while Aliaksei Protas moves to that top line.

In goal, Logan Thompson and Hunter Shepard worked in both nets, with Charlie Lindgren not skating as he recovers from an upper-body injury he suffered in Friday's loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Lindgren remains on the IR, but Carbery said he’s progressing well and they will see if he can be activated Saturday.

Ethen Frank added his second NHL goal as Washington won consecutive games for the first time since before the Christmas break.