Another home game and another division leader in town as this time it’s the Metropolitan division leading Washington Capitals paying a visit to Bell MTS Place. This is the third division leader that the Jets have seen this month after also getting visits from the Vegas Golden Knights and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Sure it feels a little bit like the sky is falling after back to back losses on home ice, but the Jets are still 6-2-2 in their last ten games. No need to panic yet, and the Jets did catch a bit of a break on Sunday with other Central division teams losing, but that likely won’t happen too many nights going forward. The Jets haven’t lost three in a row yet this season, they will look to avoid doing that now. One positive note for the club in the last couple of losses has been the Jets penalty kill which is a perfect six for six and overall is seventh in the league with an 82.7% kill percentage.

Tonight is the start of a four game road trip – the longest of the season – for the Caps. Washington has been running hot and cold over the last little while, posting a 4-3-3 mark over their last ten games. On Sunday they managed to scrap and claw back from a three goal deficit in the third period against the Detroit Red Wings but ultimately fell short in overtime. Leading the way offensively for the Caps as always is Alex Ovechkin who leads the NHL in goals with 33 and has 60 points in 55 games played. On the defensive side of things, John Carlson has always been a bit of a Jets-killer and tonight could be no different. He has nine goals and 44 points in 55 games played. Braden Holtby gets the start tonight and he too is doing Braden Holtby things, posting a 28-10-3 record with a .914 save percentage.

This is the first of two meetings between the teams this season with both clubs set to meet again in Washington in March. Last season the Jets lost both games against the Caps, though one of them was an overtime loss.

They can’t lose three in a row.. can they? The Caps are always a tough out and can beat you both in an offensive shootout or shut you down defensively. Call it superstition, but the last couple of losses we’ve predicted as wins, so let’s call for a 5-3 Capitals win and hope the opposite holds true.