Capitals at Senators
THE STORY: Through the first four games of his NHL coaching career, Dale Hunter's only victory came against the Ottawa Senators over the weekend. He will look for career win No. 2 as he leads the Capitals into Ottawa for a rematch with the Senators at Scotiabank Place on Wednesday. Washington was a 3-2 overtime victor on Saturday behind a goal from Brooks Laich only 12 seconds into the extra session. Washington has dropped Hunter's other three contests, but each game was a one-goal loss - suggesting the Capitals have been competitive in all four contests. The struggles have dropped Washington to .500 after opening the campaign with seven consecutive wins. Ottawa bounced back nicely from Saturday's defeat, upending the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 on Tuesday. The Senators have points in four of their last five games.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN, RDS2, CS Maryland
ABOUT THE CAPITALS: (13-12-1): Discipline was Washington's downfall in its most recent outing as the Capitals surrendered three power-play goals in a 5-4 defeat at the hands of the Florida Panthers. Washington can't afford to take bad penalties as it owns one of the worst penalty-killing rates in the league. “The game's too close to give up that many penalties – and them scoring on those penalties,” forward Jason Chimera said. “We can't come back from that."
ABOUT THE SENATORS (13-11-3): Ottawa climbed out of the Northeast Division basement Tuesday, improving to 6-2-2 in its last 10 games. With nine home games in December, the Senators have a legitimate chance to make some headway in what is one of the most competitive divisions in the NHL. Forward Nick Foligno, who scored the game winner against the Lightning, has a four-game point streak.
OVERTIME:
1. Washington has won five of the last six meetings.
2. Ottawa has been good at carrying forward its momentum, winning eight of its last 11 games following a victory.
3. The Senators have managed more than 30 shots on goal in each of their last four games, going 2-1-1 in that span.