Stars at Capitals
The top team in the Western Conference meets one of the best in the East when the Dallas Stars visit the Washington Capitals on Thursday. The Stars are tied for the most points in the league (30) after winning six of their last seven contests and Washington boasts points in 13 of its 17 games this season following a 2-1 overtime victory at Detroit on Wednesday.
Capitals’ leading scorer Evgeny Kuznetsov tallied 45 seconds into the extra session to end the game Wednesday as Washington improved to 6-2-0 on the road. The Stars have won three straight and boast two of the top three scorers in the league in Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, who have combined for 22 goals and 53 points. Dallas leads the NHL in goals per game (3.58) and stands second in power-play percentage (29.3) while losing only four times in 19 games. The Stars have won seven straight against the Capitals and gained a point in eight in a row.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), CSN Washington
ABOUT THE STARS (15-4-0): Seguin scored in the 3-1 victory at Buffalo on Tuesday and has four points in the last three games while Benn owns two goals and three assists in the same span. John Klingberg has also made a big impact for the Stars, leading all defenseman in the league with 20 points, and offseason acquisition Patrick Sharp has posted seven goals and eight assists. Antti Niemi won the last game in net to improve to 7-3-0 and co-No. 1 goalie Kari Lehtonen has won eight of his nine decisions while posting a .921 save percentage.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (12-4-1): The Capitals begin a five-game homestand as Alex Ovechkin continues his quest to move past Sergei Fedorov as the top Russian goal scorer in NHL history. The three-time Hart Trophy winner has been stuck on 483 career goals without gaining a point in the last four games, but registered 26 shots in that span. Off-season acquisition Justin Williams scored for the second time in three games Wednesday and defenseman Matt Niskanen notched his first two-point game since opening night with a pair of assists.
OVERTIME
1. Washington G Braden Holtby has allowed two or fewer goals in 11 of his last 12 contests.
2. Dallas D Alex Goligoski, who has 247 career points, is slated to play his 500th NHL game Thursday.
3. Capitals D Brooks Orpik missed the last three games with a lower-body injury and could return against Dallas.