The Washington Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks are playing live on the NHL schedule on Friday and the game from the United Center is live at 8:30 pm ET as Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews take on Alexander Ovechkin in the hockey matchup and the Caps come in scuffling a bit, while the Blackhawks are starting to take form as they start the season.

The Blackhawks come into the game after a 5-0 win against the Montreal Canadiens and that was on the road. The team will matchup with one of the best in the west with the Sharks next and that comes after the matchup with the Caps at home. The Blackhawks right now are fourth in the central division, but they expect to be near the top once the season ends and they come in with 15 points this season.

The Blackhawks made it to the conference finals last season and eventually lost to the Kings and that came after their Stanley Cup win the previous season. The team comes in ranked first in goals against this season and it comes with Corey Crawford banged up and they are also first in penalty kill percentage this season. The team is 15^th in power play percentage and 20^th in goals per game and they have as much talent as anyone in the west.

Jonathan Toews has been leading the way and he is tops in scoring with points and goals this season and that has been big for the team. The Blackhawks played arguably their best game of the season against Montreal and now they have another tough test with Washington. The Caps come into the game at sixth in the metro division and they are 4-5-3 on the season and they are coming in after a loss against the Calgary Flames in overtime. The team next plays the Hurricanes and that will be at home after this road matchup.

The Capitals have struggled and this comes as the team is ranked fifth in the league in goals per game in the early goings and second in power play percentage. Ovi is once again leading the team in scoring and he is tops in points as well as goals in the early part of the season and his play likely will dictate how the Caps do this year after a tough season last year. The Caps have not played well and they have lost the last five games after a strong start and while Ovechkin has played well, he needs the rest of his team to step up, especially against a team with a deep roster like the Blackhawks.

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