Stars at Capitals
Two teams in similar positions in the playoff picture face off Tuesday, when the Dallas Stars visit the Washington Capitals. Both clubs are one point out of the second wild-card spot in their respective conferences, with Dallas trailing Phoenix in the West and Washington behind Columbus in the East. The Stars have a game in hand on the Coyotes, while the Capitals have played one more contest than the Blue Jackets.
Dallas kicked off its crucial five-game road trip Saturday with a 4-2 triumph over West-leading St. Louis as Colton Sceviour recorded his first career two-goal performance. Troy Brouwer scored twice on Sunday, but Washington went on to its third straight defeat (0-1-2), a 4-3 shootout loss in Nashville. The Stars posted a 2-1 home win over the Capitals on Oct. 5 as Alex Chiasson snapped a tie with 7:53 remaining in the second period.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Plus Southwest (Dallas), CSN (Washington)
ABOUT THE STARS (36-27-11): Defenseman Patrik Nemeth was recalled from Texas of the American Hockey League on Monday. The 22-year-old Swede, who was selected in the second round of the 2010 draft but has yet to make his NHL debut, has recorded three goals, seven assists and a team-leading plus-19 rating in 37 games with Texas this season. Nemeth was called up due to a lower-body injury to fellow blue-liner Aaron Rome.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (34-28-13): Alex Ovechkin leads the NHL with 48 goals but also has the league's worst plus/minus rating at minus-34. The captain has gone 15 games without an even-strength goal but has tallied seven times on the power play in that span. Washington, which has the top-ranked unit in the league, has scored 18 man-advantage tallies in its last 16 contests.
OVERTIME
1. Sceviour has scored three of his seven goals on the season in his last two games.
2. Dallas is 4-0-1 in its last five meetings with Washington, winning each of the last four matchups.
3. Washington hits the road for four games before closing out the regular season with two at home.