Capitals at Oilers
Captain Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals attempt to remain scorching hot when they wrap up their three-game road trip against the Edmonton Oilers on Friday. Washington extended its winning streak to four games Thursday with a 3-2 comeback victory over the Vancouver Canucks.
With the Capitals trailing by a goal after two periods, Jay Beagle forged a tie less than six minutes into the third and Ovechkin snapped the deadlock with 4:55 remaining. Ovechkin has tallied in each of his five games this season, with Thursday's goal being the 480th of his career. Edmonton would like nothing better than to halt Ovechkin's streak as it vies for its fourth straight triumph. After topping Calgary and Vancouver on the road, the Oilers opened their three-game homestand Wednesday with a 3-1 victory over Detroit in which rookie sensation Connor McDavid netted his team-leading fourth goal.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, CSN-DC (Washington), RSN (Edmonton)
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (5-1-0): Ovechkin needs four goals to overtake former Capital Sergei Fedorov as the NHL's all-time leader among Russian-born players. The 30-year-old superstar will catapult past six players and into 44th place on the all-time list with 12 more tallies. Nicklas Backstrom had a rough night in his third game since returning from offseason hip surgery, losing 15-of-17 faceoffs and failing to land on the scoresheet after recording three goals and two assists in his first two contests.
ABOUT THE OILERS (3-4-0): McDavid's goal on Wednesday, which was the game-winner, gave him at least one point in four of his last five contests. The 18-year-old is tied with Nail Yakupov for the team lead with six points and tops the club in shooting percentage at 30.8, scoring four times on 13 shots. One day after making his season debut, Andrew Miller was assigned to Bakersfield of the American Hockey League on Thursday.
OVERTIME
1. Finnish RW Iiro Pakarinen was recalled from Bakersfield on Thursday after notching a goal and two assists in four games with the Condors.
2. Washington has outscored its opponents 17-6 during its winning streak.
3. Edmonton won both meetings between the teams last season, posting a one-goal victory at home and emerging victorious in a shootout at Washington.