Bruins at Capitals
The Boston Bruins attempt to strengthen their hold on a postseason berth when they visit the Washington Capitals on Wednesday. Boston, which enters with a five-game winning streak, is sitting in the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, one point behind Pittsburgh, and trails Detroit for third place in the Atlantic Division by two with a game in hand.
The Bruins kept pace in the frantic playoff race by posting a 2-1 shootout victory over Toronto in the regular-season home finale on Saturday as Patrice Bergeron tallied in regulation before netting the lone goal in the bonus format. Washington looks to solidify its hold on second place in the Metropolitan Division as it leads the New York Islanders by one point with two games remaining. The Capitals, who already have clinched a spot in the postseason, extended their point streak to five games (4-0-1) with a 2-1 triumph over Detroit in their final road contest on Sunday. Boston has yet to solve Braden Holtby this season as the netminder stopped all 61 shots he faced in 4-0 and 2-0 victories on Oct. 11 and March 15, respectively.
TV: NBCSN, TVA
ABOUT THE BRUINS (41-25-13): Boston, which is kicking off a season-ending three-game road trip, hopes to have its captain in the lineup versus Washington. Zdeno Chara has been battling an undisclosed injury that is believed to be an ankle ailment suffered when blocking a shot against the Maple Leafs but participated in practice on Tuesday. As insurance, the Bruins recalled fellow defenseman Joe Morrow from Providence of the American Hockey League on Monday.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (44-25-11): Holtby has not lost in regulation since March 21 at Winnipeg, going 5-0-1 in his last seven starts. The 25-year-old, whose eight shutouts put him one behind co-leaders Marc-Andre Fleury of Pittsburgh and Montreal's Carey Price, is 6-2-0 with a 1.80 goals-against average and .948 save percentage in eight career games against the Bruins. The netminder is expected to make his league-leading 71st start as Washington begins a two-game homestand that closes out the regular season.
OVERTIME
1. The Capitals on Tuesday recalled RW Stanislav Galiev, the team's third-round pick in the 2010 draft. The 23-year-old Russian, who has yet to make his NHL debut, recorded 25 goals and 20 assists in 64 games with Hershey of the American Hockey League this season.
2. Bruins LW Brad Marchand is tied with Bergeron for the team lead with 22 goals but has gone 14 games without a tally, notching only two assists in that span.
3. Boston will be without D Dougie Hamilton, who did not travel to Washington due to injured ribs.