Capitals at Blackhawks
It doesn't seem to matter which goaltender the Washington Capitals use these days - they're both struggling mightily. The Capitals look to halt their five-game losing streak - and stem the flow of goals against in the process - as they visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. Washington has surrendered a whopping 22 goals during its current skid, including Sean Monahan's tally 4:17 into overtime in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to Calgary.
Braden Holtby and Justin Peters both have had problems to open the season, saddling the Capitals with a combined goals-against average approaching 3.00. The Blackhawks have no such problems - they lead the NHL in goals against per game (1.8), a mark they lowered thanks to Tuesday's 5-0 walloping of Montreal. Friday marks the opener of a three-game homestand for the Blackhawks, who are 4-2-1 at United Center so far this season.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, NHLN, RSN, CSN Plus DC (Washington), CSN Plus Chicago
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (4-5-3): Superstar Alex Ovechkin became the franchise's all-time points leader with a pair of assists in the loss to the Flames, but he wasn't in the mood to talk about it afterward. Ovechkin was fixated on his team's bad fortune against a Calgary team that prevailed despite being outshot 34-23. "No question about the effort," the captain told reporters. "Everybody played hard, but sometimes luck is not on your side. In overtime, I think we had some pretty good chances - and they get one off of my stick and it goes in."
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (7-5-1): The marquee matchup Friday pits Washington's second-ranked power play (29.3 percent) against Chicago's No. 2-ranked penalty kill (92.7 percent). The Blackhawks have limited opponents to three power-play goals on the season and have surrendered just one in their last nine games overall. Chicago has been the victim of bad luck and great opposing goaltending over the past 1 1/2 weeks, outshooting its foes in six straight games but going just 3-3-0 over that span.
OVERTIME
1. Ovechkin has 827 career points with the Capitals, two more than former franchise leader Peter Bondra.
2. The Capitals have scored at least one power-play goal in four straight games and six of their last seven.
3. Chicago LW Patrick Sharp is expected to miss the next 3-4 weeks with a lower-body injury.