Wild at Capitals
A pair of teams riding three-game winning streaks meet Thursday when the Washington Capitals host the Minnesota Wild. The Capitals have scored 15 goals during their last three contests while Minnesota has allowed just four in the same stretch. Washington is wrapping up a three-game homestand, while all three of the Wild’s victories have come at home - including Tuesday's 5-1 triumph over Calgary.
Washington has vaulted into contention for the Metropolitan Division lead with a high-octane offense (50 goals). Reigning Hart Trophy winner Alex Ovechkin has 12 of those goals, including two as part of a three-point game against the New York Islanders on Tuesday after missing two contests with an upper-body injury. The Wild are riding the incredible play of goaltender Josh Harding, who has collected two shutouts while winning his last five starts.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Fox Sports North (Minnesota), CSN-DC (Washington)
ABOUT THE WILD (9-4-3): Jason Pominville leads the team with 10 goals as he tries to live up to his five-year, $28 million contract extension that starts next season. Defenseman Ryan Suter has 10 assists but has yet to score on 31 shots. Young forwards Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund are providing scoring depth for Minnesota, while Charlie Coyle recorded an assist for his first point of the season Tuesday in his second game back from injury.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (8-7-0): Nicklas Backstrom leads the team with 19 points, while offseason free-agent signing Mikhail Grabovski has 14. Eleven of Backstrom’s points have come on the power play, where Washington is a league-best 10-for-30 at home. Starting goaltender Braden Holtby was not fazed by his one-sided bout with Philadelphia's Ray Emery on Friday, stopping 34 shots for his second straight victory and sixth of the season.
OVERTIME
1. Ovechkin has a league-leading 79 shots, four more than Minnesota’s Zach Parise.
2. The Wild have won once in six all-time visits to Washington - a 4-3 victory on Nov. 21, 2002.
3. Minnesota’s power play is second only to Washington, but the Capitals have the best penalty killing in the league - allowing just five goals on 59 short-handed opportunities.