Coyotes at Capitals
The reigning Stanley Cup-champion Washington Capitals attempt to get their offense in gear when they conclude a five-game homestand Sunday against the Arizona Coyotes. Washington is 2-1-1 during the stretch but has scored a total of three goals in its last two contests, including Friday's 2-1 loss to Columbus.
Captain Alex Ovechkin leads the Capitals with 12 goals and has recorded four in his last five contests. The seven-time Maurice Richard Trophy winner has been making a habit of scoring in pairs, as he has registered four two-goal performances this campaign. Arizona looks to halt a three-game slide after suffering its fourth shutout loss already this season, a 4-0 setback at Pittsburgh on Saturday. The Coyotes, whose skid has come after a five-game winning streak, are 0-1-1 on a four-game road trip that concludes Tuesday in Detroit.
TV: 5 p.m. ET, FS Arizona, NBCS Washington
ABOUT THE COYOTES (7-7-1): Clayton Keller's 100th career game was a disappointing one, as the 20-year-old center saw his six-game point streak come to an end. Keller, who leads the club with 11 points, collected two goals and four assists during the run and had landed on the scoresheet in eight of his previous nine contests. Michael Grabner, who shares the league lead of three short-handed goals with teammate Brad Richardson, also had his six-game point streak (four goals, four assists) halted on Saturday.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (7-5-3): With defensemen Brooks Orpik and John Carlson both sidelined with lower-body injuries on Friday, Jonas Siegenthaler was recalled from Hershey of the American Hockey League and made his NHL debut. The 21-year-old Swiss blue-liner, who was selected in the second round of the 2015 draft, recorded one shot in 12 minutes, 13 seconds of ice time while paired with Madison Bowey. Evgeny Kuznetsov, who leads the team with 20 points and is one assist shy of 200 for his career, is riding a six-game point streak during which he has scored one goal and set up six others.
OVERTIME
1. Coyotes D Alex Goligoski (lower body) missed Saturday's contest and is day-to-day.
2. Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom has recorded a goal and four assists during his four-game point streak.
3. Arizona owns the league's best penalty kill (91.5 percent) and leads the NHL with a whopping nine short-handed goals.