Stars at Capitals
With their playoff hopes flickering, the Dallas Stars need all the points they can get - and Friday's encounter with the host Washington Capitals is a good place to start. The Stars upended Carolina 5-3 on Thursday, but remain well back of the Western Conference wild-card spots and have several teams to leapfrog along the way. They can take solace in the fact that they have won their last six meetings with the Capitals, who are coming off a 3-1 defeat to the New York Rangers on Wednesday.
The Capitals are comfortably situated in the first wild-card spot in the East, but they have higher hopes despite playing in the ultra-competitive Metropolitan Division. Wednesday's setback was a significant one, as it dropped Washington a full nine points behind division-leading New York with the Rangers owning two games in hand. Captain Alex Ovechkin was the lone bright spot in the defeat, scoring his league-best 45th goal of the season - and his sixth in four games this month.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS-SW+ (Dallas), CSN-DC (Washington)
ABOUT THE STARS (30-27-10): The Stars appear content to simply outscore opponents rather than rely on a solid defensive effort. And while that has yielded some positive results - Dallas entered Friday with a conference-leading 214 goals - it has backfired more often than not, evidenced by the whopping 224 goals the team has allowed. One thing working in their favor heading into their showdown with the Capitals: they're 18-14-2 away from Dallas on the season, and a sizzling 10-3-1 against the Metropolitan Division.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (36-22-10): Dallas' high-powered offense could cause problems for a Washington defense corps that could be without a pair of veterans. Mike Green is recovering from an upper-body injury that kept him out of Wednesday's loss to the Rangers, though Capitals coach Barry Trotz says he is "a possible for (Friday)." Brooks Orpik isn't as fortunate; he aggravated a lower-body injury and was forced out of Tuesday's practice, then missed the Rangers game - his first absence of the season - and won't be in the lineup Friday.
OVERTIME
1. Dallas has won five straight games against Metropolitan opponents.
2. Washington has just one victory in its last five outings versus the Central Division.
3. Ovechkin has five goals and two assists in nine career games against the Stars.