Capitals at Coyotes
With the Presidents' Trophy and a franchise record for victories in a season already secured, the Washington Capitals don't have much left to accomplish this regular season. The Capitals still have their single-season point mark for which to aim, and they attempt to inch closer when they visit the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday for the finale of their three-game road trip.
Washington edged Colorado on Friday to post its club-record 55th victory and raise its point total to 116 - five shy of the total it produced in 2009-10. While Washington tunes up for a run at the Stanley Cup, Arizona runs out the string as it was eliminated from playoff contention with Thursday's loss at Dallas. The Coyotes look to improve upon their solid 21-15-4 record at home as they play their final game at Gila River Arena before ending the season with a four-game road trip. The Capitals are hoping to complete a sweep of the two-game season series after recording a 3-2 victory over Arizona at home on Feb. 22.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, CSN DC (Washington), FSN Arizona
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (55-16-6): Alex Ovechkin, who notched a goal and an assist in the first meeting with the Coyotes, moved closer to locking up his fourth consecutive - and sixth overall - Maurice Richard Trophy by scoring his 45th goal Friday. The 30-year-old captain has a five-goal lead over Chicago's Patrick Kane and Stars captain Jamie Benn after reaching 45 for the eighth time in his 11 NHL seasons. Braden Holtby could receive a rest Saturday after pulling within one victory of Martin Brodeur's single-season record of 48 set in 2006-07.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (34-36-7): Already without leading scorer Oliver Ekman-Larsson due to an illness, Arizona lost Martin Hanzal after one period Thursday for the same reason. The 29-year-old Czech scored the lone goal against Dallas to set a career high of 41 points. Defenseman Alex Grant and Eric Selleck made their debuts for Arizona on Thursday after last appearing in the NHL with Anaheim in 2013-14 and Florida in 2012-13, respectively.
OVERTIME
1. Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom hopes to return to the lineup after missing Friday's contest with an undisclosed injury.
2. Arizona recalled C Laurent Dauphin from Springfield of the American Hockey League.
3. Washington RW Justin Williams will reach the 1,000-game plateau should he appear in each of the Capitals' final five contests.