Predators at Capitals
The Washington Capitals already have clinched a postseason berth, have all but locked up the Metropolitan Division title and own a sizeable lead in their pursuit of the second Presidents' Trophy in team history. Washington attempts to expand that advantage and continue its quest to set a franchise record for victories when it hosts the Nashville Predators on Friday.
The Capitals are coming off a 2-1 overtime triumph over visiting Carolina on Tuesday, which got them to the 50-win plateau for the fourth time in club history and first since 2009-10 — when they recorded a franchise-high 54 victories. Nashville securely sits in the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference but still has its sights set on one of the top three spots in the Central, as it pulled within three points of third-place Chicago and remained eight behind division-leading Dallas with Thursday's home triumph over the New York Islanders. The Predators are 11-1-5 in their last 17 games and have been exceptional on the road since mid-January, earning at least one point in 14 of their last 15 away from home (11-1-3). Washington hopes to complete a sweep of the two-game season series after recording a 5-3 victory in Nashville on Feb. 9 behind a one-goal, two-assist performance by Marcus Johansson.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TVA, FSN Tennessee (Nashville), CSN-DC (Washington)
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (36-22-13): Filip Forsberg leads the team in goals (28) and points (52) but has been kept off the scoresheet in each of his last four games. The 21-year-old Swede, who scored twice against Washington in the first meeting, is 11 points shy of matching his career high set last season. James Neal has begun to heat up, scoring four goals in his last two games after netting two during his previous 13 contests.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (50-14-5): Alex Ovechkin scored the winning goal versus the Hurricanes to raise his league-leading total to 42 — four more than Chicago's Patrick Kane. The 30-year-old captain, who is seeking his fourth consecutive Maurice Richard Trophy and sixth overall, has 13 games to reach the 50-goal plateau for the third straight season and seventh time in his career. Braden Holtby has posted a franchise-record 42 victories, eclipsing the previous mark shared by himself (2014-15) and Olaf Kolzig (1999-2000).
OVERTIME
1. Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom is two tallies away from recording his first 20-goal season since netting a career-high 33 in 2009-10 and becoming the fifth member of the team to reach the plateau.
2. Nashville D Roman Josi is second on the club with 50 points — five shy of his career high from last season.
3. Ovechkin is second on the all-time list with 17 regular-season overtime goals, two behind Florida's Jaromir Jagr.