Capitals at Senators
The Washington Capitals have to be wary of an emotional letdown when they visit the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night. The Capitals arrive in town on a four-game winning streak and are coming off a 5-0 thrashing of Columbus on Thursday that derailed the Blue Jackets' bid to match the longest winning streak in NHL history.
"Who wouldn't want to stop a streak?" Washington forward Justin Williams asked the media. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about it, for sure. And we did, pretty good game." The Capitals are entering a rugged portion of the schedule with games against division leaders Montreal and Chicago sandwiched around a matchup with reigning Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh. The Senators have been idle since a 2-1 defeat at Washington on New Year's Day for its third consecutive loss -- all coming by one goal. Ottawa, tied for second place in the Atlantic Division, is 11-5-4 at Canadian Tire Centre entering its four-game homestand.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington), City, TVAS2 (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (24-9-5): Braden Holtby was pulled from Tuesday's 6-5 win over Toronto after allowing three goals on eight shots, but he responded by blanking Columbus, which entered Thursday's matchup on a 16-game game streak and leading the league in scoring. It was the fourth shutout of the season for the reigning Vezina Trophy winner. “He’s so calm back there, even if he got pulled last game, he’s still so calm," forward Nicklas Backstrom said. "He just regroups this way to have a shutout. That’s awesome.”
ABOUT THE SENATORS (20-13-4): Starting netminder Craig Anderson is on indefinite leave to care for his wife, Nicholle, who is battling a rare form of cancer but provided a positive update on her blog this week that a primary tumor behind her nose is shrinking following aggressive treatment. Backup Mike Condon, acquired from Pittsburgh in November, has appeared in all 14 games -- starting 12 -- since Dec. 1. Ottawa's power play has come up empty during the three-game skid, failing on all 11 chances.
OVERTIME
1. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin has 23 goals and 40 points in 38 games against Ottawa.
2. Senators C Kyle Turris scored in Sunday's loss at Washington, his seventh goal in 14 meetings with the Capitals.
3. Williams has four goals and nine points in the last six games.