Jets at Capitals
The Washington Capitals will renew acquaintances with Winnipeg on Thursday, two days removed from completing their four-game road trip through Western Canada with a 3-2 victory over the Jets. Marcus Johansson recorded his third multi-point performance in as many contests - all wins - for the Capitals, who open a three-game stay at the Verizon Center with the back end of the home-and-home series.
"He's playing with a lot of confidence and that line seems to have a little bit of chemistry," Washington coach Barry Trotz said of Johansson, who has five goals and two assists in the last three contests while playing with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson. "They've scored probably - it seems like - 90 percent of our goals in our last two games." Jay Beagle netted an important one with 30 seconds to play, sending Winnipeg to its second straight loss despite overcoming an early two-goal deficit and peppering Vezina Trophy Braden Holtby with 45 shots. "We're happy we came back in it, but at the end of the day, we still didn't finish it off," forward Mark Scheifele told the Winnipeg Sun after recording his fifth goal and team-best ninth point.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN3 (Winnipeg), CSN-DC (Washington)
ABOUT THE JETS (4-6-0): Tuesday's outcome was especially painful for Winnipeg, which saw third-line forward Shawn Matthias sustain a lower-body injury after he was tangled up with Washington defenseman Dmitry Orlov behind the net. The Jets placed Matthias on injured reserve on Wednesday and contacted Manitoba of the American Hockey League to recall fellow forward Andrew Copp, who had seven goals and 13 points in 77 games with Winnipeg last season. "I had a good start to the season with the Moose and I'm going to try and keep building off that and prove I belong here," Copp (five assists in eight AHL games) told the Winnipeg Sun on Wednesday.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (6-2-1): Captain Alex Ovechkin has tormented the Winnipeg/Atlanta franchise throughout his career, recording 85 points (43 goals, 42 assists) in 60 games. Nicklas Backstrom likely won't receive a Christmas card from the Jets, either, as the Swede has 42 points (15 goals, 27 assists) in 21 career encounters. Backstom's five assists are tied with three other Capitals for the team lead - including Kuznetsov, who had two against Winnipeg on Tuesday.
OVERTIME
1. Washington has won four in a row at home against Winnipeg and is 9-1-1 in its last 11 overall versus the club.
2. Jets F Drew Stafford (upper body) was unable to accompany the team on its three-game road trip while Ds Mark Stuart (upper body) and Tyler Myers (lower body) are considered day-to-day.
3. The Capitals have scored the game's first two goals in three straight outings and six of their last seven contests.