The Washington Capitals (21-6-2) begin a short two-game road trip with a game against the Dallas Stars (20-7-4) at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas tonight (Dec. 16.) The frozen showdown features a red-hot road team against one of the best home teams in the NHL. Washington has won 10 straight games away from home, and they need two straight visiting wins to tie the NHL record. The task will be challenging against a Dallas club that has defended home ice well this season with a 12-3-0 mark through 15 home dates during the 2024-25 NHL regular season.
Capitals Handed the Stars Their First Loss in 2024-25
Almost two months ago, on Oct. 17, the Capitals were the first team to beat the Stars in a 3-2 win at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. Dallas center Colin Blackwell opened the scoring for the visitors on a short-handed goal in the first period to establish a 1-0 for Dallas. There were four goals in the second period, including the game-winner from Taylor Raddysh with 2:41 remaining in the middle frame.
Related: 3 Veteran Goalies Who Made the Leap from Backup to Starter
Washington’s goalie, Charlie Lindgren, withstood 10 third-period shots from Dallas to preserve the Capitals win. Washington rolled to win their next four-straight games, and the Stars shrugged off the loss with wins in three of their next four contests.
Capitals Enter With 10-game Road-Winning Streak
Washington started this season’s away-victory run with an 8-1 win over the St. Louis Blues near the beginning of November. Washington continued the good vibes despite losing Captain Alex Ovechkin to injury in the third period of a mid-November win in Utah. The Capitals have beaten some of the top NHL clubs, including the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, and New Jersey Devils.
This historic 10-game successful road run by the Capitals already ranks 7th best in NHL history. More recently, several teams have tested the 12-game road mark over the last few seasons but have come up short, including the Panthers and the Los Angeles Kings last season. The Colorado Avalanche and Decils also falling just shy with 11-straight road postgame celebrations the season before in 2022-23.
Washington enters tonight’s game in Dallas with an 8-1-1 record over its last 10 games, while Dallas has been searching for answers, going 5-5-0 over the previous handful of contests. If Washington wins in Dallas tonight and Chicago tomorrow, it will tie the NHL record. The Blackhawks are 5-8-0 at United Center this season.
Dallas’ Domination at Home
Despite the mediocre .500 record over their last 10 games, Dallas has been excellent at American Airless Center this season. The Stars are 12-3-0 in 15 games with a second-best plus-22 goal differential in the friendly rink. When Dallas makes a mistake, they are the NHL’s best penalty-killing squad at 89.5% in front of the home supporters.
The Stars are in the middle of a six-game homestand that started with a Dec. 8 win over the Calgary Flames. Dallas was disrupted by the Nashville Predators, 4-1, before dispatching St. Louis in overtime over the weekend. The Maple Leafs and New York Rangers will complete the homestand in Dallas. The Stars have aligned to keep Dallas home for most of the holiday season (they head to Utah on Dec. 23.) Washington is not so lucky with a three-game Original Six road trip across Christmas week, visiting Boston, Toronto, and Detroit.
