Capitals at Jets
THE STORY: The Washington Capitals have won four in a row to create some distance between themselves and the rest of the clubs looking to unseat them as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Capitals will travel to Manitoba on Friday to face one of the teams hot on their trail in Winnipeg. The Jets, who sit four points behind their Southeast Division rival, have won three straight at MTS Centre.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, CS Washington Plus (Capitals), TSN (Jets)
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (36-28-6): Alex Ovechkin survived quite a scare during Thursday's practice after he collided with veteran Mike Knuble. The captain was holding his head on the bench for a few minutes before departing to the locker room. Coach Dale Hunter insisted that Ovechkin was "fine" and expects him to play Friday. Washington will need the explosiveness of Ovechkin, who tallied twice in regulation and scored in the shootout of Tuesday's 5-4 victory over the New York Islanders.
ABOUT THE JETS (33-29-8): Evander Kane and captain Andrew Ladd continued their respective hot streaks as Winnipeg opened its three-game homestand Wednesday with a dominating 5-2 victory over the Dallas Stars. Kane scored to record his ninth goal and 17th point in his last 12 contests while Ladd tallied twice for his seventh goal in 10 games. The pair has also fared well versus the Capitals this season. Kane has collected three goals in four games and Ladd has four points in that stretch.
OVERTIME:
1. Washington defenseman Mike Green is eligible to return from his three-game suspension Friday. Green, who was penalized for his head shot on Brett Connolly of the Tampa Bay Lightning, will replace either veteran Roman Hamrlik or Jeff Schultz in the lineup.
2. Winnipeg goaltender Ondrej Pavelec has traditionally struggled versus Washington by winning only six of 16 career contests, but did improve to 2-1-1 this season by stopping 32 shots in a 3-2 win Feb. 9.