Caps vs. Wild 11-13-2009 Preview

Washington Capitals (11-7; 26 points) vs. Minnesota Wild (7-11; 15 points):
Caps Game #19, Home Game #11, NHL Game #262


Verizon Center, Washington, D.C., 7:07 pm. Washington TV: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Plus. Radio: WFED 1500-AM. Minnesota TV: Fox Sportsnet North. Radio: KLCI 106.1-FM.  NHL Center Ice: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Plus and Fox Sportsnet North feeds.

Tonight, the Caps look for their fourth win in a row when they wrap up a three game homestand by hosting the Minnesota Wild.  This is the first and only meeting between the two teams this year, last year Minnesota won the lone matchup, 4-3, at home.  Heading into last night's 4-3 gimmick loss in Tampa, the Wild had won four of their last five games.  This is the third stop on a four game road trip for Minnesota and their second game of a three games in four nights run with all three of those games coming against the Southeast Division.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post.  Times.  Caps.com

Neutral Views:

NHL.com.  AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

St. Paul Pioneer Press: blown lead, friends now rivals.  Star Tribune: late collapse, adjustment period, Game Preview.

What Do We Expect Tonight?:

Gone are the days in Minnesota where they look to bore everybody to death before scoring a single goal and winning the game 1-0.  The Wild have tried to open things up which is a big part of the reason why they started off with just one win in their first seven games.  The Wild have been getting the hang of things since then but still have a long ways to go to overcome their slow start.  The Caps will want to avoid overtime tonight, three of Minnesota's seven wins have come after regulation and last night in Tampa was the first time the Wild lost after regulation this season.  We've certainly noticed a certain "Wild West Shootout" trend with the Caps right now and considering that the lineup isn't likely to change all that much, why wouldn't tonight's game be as crazy as the past few home games?  We're just starting to become numb to the whole thing.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 5
Wild 3
Winner by Semin
(6-12 on the season with one perfect game)