Capitals at Bruins
After dropping a home-and-home series to their division rival, the Washington Capitals look to rebound on Thursday by defeating the host Boston Bruins for the second time in six days. Alex Ovechkin erupted for two goals - including his 800th career point - in Washington's 4-2 triumph over Boston on Saturday. The captain was held off the scoresheet in a 5-4 overtime loss to Philadelphia the following afternoon before netting his NHL-leading 44th goal and adding an assist in a 6-4 setback to the Flyers on Wednesday.
Boston limped out of the Olympic break with a pair of losses before rebounding with a 6-3 win over the New York Rangers on Sunday and a 4-1 triumph versus former Bruin Tim Thomas and Florida two nights later. David Krejci recorded his third career hat trick versus the Panthers and Jarome Iginla scored and set up a goal for the second consecutive contest. Iginla's next tally will be his 20th of the season and the 550th of his career.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN (Washington), NESN (Boston)
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (29-24-10): After a brief drought prior to the Olympic break, Washington's potent power play has been scorching hot since play resumed. Ovechkin scored both of the Capitals' tallies with the man advantage versus Boston and added his league-leading 18th power-play goal against Philadelphia. Joel Ward and Brooks Laich also scored with the man advantage on Wednesday as Washington improved to 7-for-18 over its last four games.
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ABOUT THE BRUINS (39-17-5): Boston addressed its defensive issues on Wednesday by acquiring blue-liner Andrej Meszaros from Philadelphia for a third-round pick in the 2014 draft. Meszaros will see a familiar face in captain Zdeno Chara, with whom he played in Ottawa. Defensema Corey Potter was claimed off waivers from Edmonton as the Bruins attempt to secure a back end left vulnerable by the season-ending knee injury suffered by Dennis Seidenberg in December.
OVERTIME
1. Washington acquired G Jaroslav Halak and a 2015 third-round pick from Buffalo for G Michal Neuvirth and D Rostislav Klesla.
2. Boston G Tuukka Rask yielded four goals on 31 shots Saturday to drop to 0-3-3 lifetime versus the Capitals.
3. Washington D Mike Green has notched five assists in his last two games after being held off the scoresheet in each of his three previous contests.