Washington has its own problems, mostly on the injury report. Pierre-Luc Dubois went on IR and missed his 4th straight game against the Devils. Justin Sourdif has been out sick too. On defense, Matt Roy missed his 6th straight game with a lower-body injury even after practicing in full, and Rasmus Sandin is on long-term injured reserve with a knee injury. The Capitals have still won 2 straight as of Saturday, and they've been getting goals from all over the lineup without those guys.
The Devils win was a good example. It was 1-1 after the 1st. Ryan Leonard scored on the power play, then Ilya Protas, Dylan Strome and Boone Jenner scored in a 3-goal 2nd period that put Washington up 4-1. Leonard and Protas are young forwards getting real minutes with Dubois and Sourdif out, and they're producing. The 5-4 win over Montreal before that was messier, but it counted. Washington was 5-3-0 as of Saturday, with home wins over the Rangers, Canadiens and Devils and a home loss to Seattle.
The Capitals' injury news could matter before Tuesday. Roy has already been cleared for contact, and Carbery said Dubois was feeling a little better and might be back at practice this week. If either returns, Washington's lineup gets deeper and less dependent on its rookies. On the other side, the Kings flew across the country after a home loss with a 7:00 PM ET puck drop waiting. A team that has scored 1 goal a game now has to beat Washington on the road, and the Capitals have scored at least 3 in 4 of their last 5.