The Capitals, who are on a 10-game point streak, will aim for their fifth win in a row when they kick off a season-long, five-game road trip at Rogers Place on Tuesday. Washington currently sits atop the NHL standings with the league’s best goal differential (plus-50), but nobody would have expected this kind of turnaround from the Capitals after they squeaked into the playoffs with a minus-37 goal differential last season—the worst ever for a team in the salary cap era. However, it goes to show what can happen when a team drafts well and has a good offseason.

Washington turned over roughly a third of its roster, bringing in forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, defenseman Jakub Chychrun, and goaltender Logan Thompson, all of whom have made a big impact. Dubois, Chychrun, and Thompson are all on track to have the best seasons of their careers. In fact, Dubois and Chychrun lead the Capitals in points since Nov. 10.

The Capitals have also received contributions from draft picks like Aliaksei Protas (19-19–38) and Connor McMichael (17-17–34). Although he has somewhat cooled off, Dylan Strome (12-34–46) still leads the team in points.

Thompson, meanwhile, was recently named the NHL’s First Star of the Week after going 3-0-0 during the week and posting a 0.33 goals-against average and a .984 save percentage with two shutouts. The 27-year-old has posted a .925 save percentage, and, according to Evolving Hockey, only Connor Hellebuyck has saved more goals above expected this season.

Of course, all eyes will be on captain Alexander Ovechkin, who is just 21 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring record of 894. The 39-year-old has 21 goals in 30 games this season after missing five weeks with a broken leg but hasn’t scored in his last three trips to Edmonton.

The big story out of Edmonton is that Connor McDavid will miss the next three games after being handed a suspension for cross-checking Vancouver Canucks forward Connor Garland on Saturday. McDavid will miss Tuesday’s game against Washington, Thursday’s rematch against the Canucks, and Saturday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres.

McDavid missed three games due to injury earlier this season, but the Oilers survived, going 2-0-1. However, they are 4-6-1 without McDavid since the start of the 2021-22 season.

Leon Draisaitl (33-36–69) will be expected to step up in McDavid’s absence, as he did earlier this season, registering three goals and three assists in three games. Draisaitl has been the team’s most valuable player this season, and another impressive run without his running mate could further strengthen his case for being the league’s MVP.

It’s unclear how Edmonton will shuffle its lines with McDavid out, but so far, we know that Jeff Skinner will likely play on the third line with Adam Henrique and Connor Brown. Oilersnation’s Jason Gregor has pondered whether Kasperi Kapanen might get a look with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman, but Daily Faceoff projects that Skinner will move up to play alongside Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman. Head coach Kris Knoblauch has yet to confirm any line changes, though.

However, Knoblauch did confirm that newly signed John Klingberg will not be making his debut on Tuesday. Klingberg practiced with the Oilers for the first time on Monday and hopes to make his debut before the NHL hits pause on the regular season for the 4 Nations Face-Off on Feb. 7.

Stuart Skinner is expected to be back in the crease on Tuesday following just his second regulation loss in his last 10 starts. The 26-year-old posted a .960 save percentage with one shut out in two games versus the Capitals last season, but he allowed eight goals in two games against Washington the season prior.

It pains me to do this because I’ll be at this game, and I would love to see the Oilers win an exciting, high-scoring game. However, I believe this is the best betting strategy. The Capitals haven’t looked their best lately, but they’ve been a great underdog bet this season, and both teams have trended toward the under. Since the start of December, 15 of Washington’s 22 games have featured five or fewer goals, as have the Oilers’ last six home games.