Wild at Capitals
THE STORY: If the Washington Capitals fail to make the postseason, Friday night's home loss to the Winnipeg Jets will not soon be forgotten by the coaches and players. The Capitals squandered a three-goal lead in the 4-3 overtime defeat and now find themselves trailing the Buffalo Sabres by two points for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Washington looks to bounce back when it hosts the Minnesota Wild on Sunday afternoon.
TV: 5 p.m. ET, NBCS
ABOUT THE WILD (31-33-10): Minnesota was unable to do Washington a favor, falling at Buffalo 3-1 on Saturday night. Per usual, offense was an issue for the league’s lowest-scoring team. Defenseman Steven Kampfer accounted for Minnesota’s only goal. Kyle Brodziak assisted on the tally to give him seven points during a four-game streak. With Niklas Backstrom sidelined by a lower-body injury, Josh Harding made 34 saves. Matt Cullen was hit in the hand by a shot late in the game and left the ice.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (37-30-8): Prior to the meltdown, Alex Ovechkin’s continued revival was the storyline against Winnipeg. He scored twice in a four-minute span to give him six goals during a four-game streak and eight tallies in his last six games. Jason Chimera set a career high with his 18th goal and tied his career high in points (36), but it went for naught. "We just fell apart pretty much. It was an embarrassing, embarrassing loss,” defenseman Karl Alzner said.
OVERTIME:
1. The Capitals found a silver lining Saturday when C Nicklas Backstrom was cleared for full contact. He has been sidelined since Jan. 3 with a concussion.
2. The home team has won 10 of the last 11 meetings in the series.
3. The Wild called up Matt Hackett from their AHL affiliate in Houston. He has lost three straight and five of six starts this month.