The Rundown:

The Caps and the Wings faceoff in Detroit tonight, as two middling teams look to start their turnaround on the season. The Capitals with a record of 5-4-2 and the Red Wings with a record of 4-3-2 have had disappointing starts to their seasons. Both teams who looked to restructure their rosters to make strides both have fallen to a state of mediocrity. Each team will definitely be playing with a chip on their shoulders, with high hopes on both sides as they battle tonight to change their fortunes.

The Matchup

Washington last season was clearly the better team when these two teams matched up. The Capitals put the pedal to the metal and outscored the Red Wings 7-4 through three games. The Caps took two regulation wins from Detroit, but the Red Wings managed to snag a 3-2 Shootout win early last season. This season, have already squared off against each other with Alex Ovechkin leading the charge and beating the Red Wings at home 4-2.

Players To Watch

For the Capitals, the player to watch is Alex Ovechkin. The best goal scorer of our generation continues to chase Gretzky’s record every night. That fact alone makes him the player to watch every night. But for his standards he hasn’t been playing up to par. The Great eight only has five goals on the season, but more than likely he will find his rhythm and go back to being in the Rocket Richard race.

For the Red Wings, hometown boy Dylan Larkin is the player to watch here. Larkin has 11 points through nine games and has been solid coming out of the gate this year. Even with the Red Wings having a down year last season, Larkin put up the second best record of the year scoring 69 points in 71 games. Larkin remains committed to help building a stronger future in Detroit and leads by example to help his team win.