NBCSN’s coverage of the 2019-20 NHL season begins with Wednesday’s matchup between the St. Louis Blues and Washington Capitals when the Blues raise their 2019 Stanley Cup banner. Coverage begins at 6:30p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.
The Blues will raise their first-ever Stanley Cup banner 364 days after the Capitals did the same thing following their 2018 championship season. The only repeat champion over the past 2 decades is the Penguins, who won in 2016 and ‘17 before losing to Washington in their quest to three-peat.
“They’ve turned the page and moved forward,” said Blues GM Doug Armstrong. “There are still remnants of last year’s success -- the ring ceremony opening night, maybe a visit to the White House or the Hall of Fame presentation -- there are still moments that are connected to last year’s team. But once the guys walked into the room this training camp, they don’t talk about it.”
Washington enters this season with teo of its key players, Braden Holtby and Nicklas Backstrom, entering the final year of their current contracts. With Alex Ovechkin two years away from free agency himself, and the Capitals tight against the salary cap already, it will be difficult for the team to retain every core piece from its championship group.
“I didn’t think we would be able to get enough money to sign Carlson, and we made it happen,” said Capitals GM Brian McLellan. “I am not ruling anything out. I mean, obviously it will be tough to do, especially if they both have good years. It is going to be hard to do, but I wouldn’t rule it out.”
Alex Ovechkin enters this season 13th on the all-time goals list with 658. He is 10 away from tying Luc Robitaille for 12th place, but it will take a while to move up beyond that. 30 goals would move him to 11th, 40 goals would move him to eighth, and if he can match his total from last season (51), he would take sole possession of seventh. [WATCH LIVE – COVERAGE BEGINS AT 6:30 P.M. ET – NBCSN]
WHAT: Washington Capitals at St. Louis Blues WHERE: Enterprise Center WHEN: Wednesday, Oct. 2, 6:30 p.m. ET TV: NBCSN LIVE STREAM: You can watch the Capitals-Blues stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
CAPITALS Alex Ovechkin - Nicklas Backstrom - Tom Wilson Jakub Vrana - Lars Eller - T.J. Oshie Carl Hagelin - Chandler Stephenson - Richard Panik Brendan Leipsic - Nic Dowd - Garnet Hathaway
Jonas Siegenthaler - John Carlson Dmitry Orlov - Nick Jensen Martin Fehervary - Radko Gudas
Starting goalie: Braden Holtby
BLUES Jaden Schwartz - Brayden Schenn - Vladimir Tarasenko Sammy Blais - Ryan O’Reilly - David Perron Robby Fabbri - Tyler Bozak - Robert Thomas Ivan Barbashev - Oskar Sundqvist - Alex Steen
Alex Pietrangelo - Justin Faulk Jay Bouwmeester - Colton Parayko Vince Dunn - Robert Bortuzzo
Starting goalie: Jordan Binnington
Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN with a special 90-minute edition of NHL Live, as host Kathryn Tappen, analysts Keith Jones and Patrick Sharp, and NHL insider Bob McKenzie preview the evening’s doubleheader and the upcoming 2019-20 season. Analyst Jeremy Roenick will be on-site in St. Louis to capture the scene outside Enterprise Center prior to the raising of the Blues’ first-ever Stanley Cup championship banner.
Mike Emrick, who returns for his 15th season as NBC Sports’ lead NHL play-by-play commentator, Eddie Olczyk and Brian Boucher will call Capitals-Blues from Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Mo.
