Bruins at Capitals
The top wild card in the Eastern Conference is on the line Sunday night when the surging Boston Bruins pay a visit to the Washington Capitals. The Bruins have ripped off five consecutive victories, matching their season high, and are 7-0-1 in their last eight to pull into a tie with Washington with one game in hand. Boston, which is coming off a 2-0 shutout at Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon, is only three points behind Detroit for third place in the Atlantic Division.
The Capitals were making a bid to overhaul Pittsburgh for third place in the Metropolitan Division but have stumbled badly on their five-game homestand, going 1-3-0 and scoring a combined four goals in the three losses. Washington has dropped six of nine overall, prompting a closed-door meeting following Friday's 4-2 setback versus Dallas. "I don't think right now we can say we’re a good hockey team," coach Barry Trotz said. "Right now, we're only a good hockey team when we've got our backs against the wall a little bit."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports
ABOUT THE BRUINS (36-22-10): Boston is becoming the quintessential front-runner, scoring first in 11 consecutive games while posting an 8-1-1 mark over the last 10 contests. "(It) is a huge difference," forward Milan Lucic said of striking first after he provided the opening goal Saturday. "If you look at the last bunch of games, being able to get that first goal and establish a lead, it takes a lot of pressure off of us and allows us to play our game." Lucic and rookie David Pastrnak will carry four-game point streaks into Sunday's matchup.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (36-23-10): Braden Holtby has surrendered seven goals in back-to-back losses and was pulled in the second period Friday, but he'll be back in net after backup Justin Peters suffered a lower-body injury in relief against Dallas. Washington has a mounting injury list, with Brooks Orpik (lower body) expected to miss his third straight game and fellow defenseman Jay Beagle set to sit out his second in a row. Captain Alex Ovechkin has scored six times during a five-game point streak to boost his league-best total to 45 goals.
OVERTIME
1. Holtby is 5-2-0 with a 2.09 goals-against average versus the Bruins, including a 4-0 shutout at Boston on Oct. 11.
2. Bruins G Tuukka Rask needs one shutout to tie Eddie Johnston (27) for fifth place on the team's career list.
3. Ovechkin and C Nicklas Backstrom each have 418 assists, tied with Michal Pivonka for first on the franchise's all-time list.