Penguins at Capitals
The Washington Capitals will spend the last six weeks of the regular season preparing for the playoffs, and losing three times in four games is not part of the plan. The Capitals will try to avoid that scenario when they begin a three-game homestand against the Metropolitan Division-rival Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.
Washington, which has earned the most points in the league (94), dropped a 3-2 decision at Chicago on Sunday for its second loss in three contests. Newly acquired defenseman Mike Weber could make his debut with the team after being obtained last week from Buffalo for depth purposes with John Carlson out indefinitely due to a lower-body injury. Marc-Andre Fleury posted his fifth shutout of the season Monday as the Penguins blanked Arizona 6-0 at home for their second straight victory and maintained a three-point lead for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Pittsburgh, which is 7-3-1 in its last 11 contests, recorded a 3-1 win at Washington in October and dropped a 4-1 decision to the Capitals at home in December.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, Sportsnet, TVA
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (32-21-8): Patric Hornqvist notched his first career hat trick on Monday and Pittsburgh hopes he can make steady contributions to the offensively gifted team when healthy. Captain Sidney Crosby tops the club with 59 points after recording three assists on Monday and Evgeni Malkin reached 50 with one assist against Arizona. The Penguins lost David Warsofsky on waivers to New Jersey but will be adding fellow defenseman Justin Schultz soon after he clears up visa issues following his acquisition from Edmonton.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (45-12-4): Washington also picked up forward Daniel Winnik on Sunday from last-place Toronto, and he is expected to play with Jay Beagle and Mike Richards on the fourth line when he arrives – most likely on Wednesday. “It kind of revitalizes your play,” Winnik, who has recorded four goals and 10 assists this season, told reporters of moving to a first-place team. Captain Alex Ovechkin (league-best 40 goals) has tallied 12 times in his last 13 games while leading scorer Evgeny Kuznetsov (64 points) has collected 23 points in his last 17 contests.
OVERTIME
1. Washington RW Justin Williams needs one goal to reach 20 for the first time since 2011-12 with Los Angeles.
2. Pittsburgh D Kris Letang scored his 11th goal Monday, matching his career best that was set in 2013-14 and equaled last season.
3. Capitals G Braden Holtby needs one victory to reach 40 on the season but posted just a .903 save percentage in February.