Capitals at Penguins
With first place in the NHL now in their clutches, the Washington Capitals look to push their winning streak to double digits when they visit the Metropolitan Division-rival Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday. Washington has been downright stingy of late, posting four shutouts and allowing a total of three goals over its last six victories.
Justin Williams has been an offensive force during the Capitals' nine-game run, registering six goals and five assists after scoring twice in Sunday's 5-0 victory over his former Philadelphia squad. The 35-year-old netted the winning tally on Wednesday in a 5-2 home triumph that ended Pittsburgh's five-game winning streak. The setback also kicked off a slide for the Penguins that reached three contests with Saturday's 6-3 setback in Detroit. Pittsburgh has been invincible at home since falling to the New York Rangers on Nov. 21, winning its last five while going 11-0-1 at PPG Paints Arena in that span.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, Sportsnet, TVAS, ROOT (Pittsburgh)
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (29-9-5): Alex Ovechkin has collected seven points over his last four contests, including a pair of goals in last week's win over Pittsburgh that made him the 84th player in NHL history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. The 31-year-old Russian captain enters Monday's game with 1,003 points, one behind Brian Propp for 83rd place, and needs two goals to tie Michel Goulet (548) for 28th in league history. Braden Holtby has posted three of his league-leading six shutouts in his last five starts and is one shy of 30 for his career.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (26-11-5): Pittsburgh hopes to have Kris Letang in the lineup after the defenseman suffered a leg injury just three minutes into Saturday's loss. Before exiting, the 29-year-old did manage to score a goal off a feed from captain Sidney Crosby, who has yet to go more than one game without a point this season. Ian Cole's next game will be the 300th of his career, fellow defenseman Justin Schultz needs one assist for 100 in the NHL and former Capital Eric Fehr is two points away from 200.
OVERTIME
1. Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom, who leads the team with 42 points, has collected nine assists during his six-game streak.
2. Pittsburgh has not suffered four straight regulation losses since Dec. 14-19, 2015.
3. Washington has allowed a total of 11 goals during its winning streak, which is its longest since a nine-game run from Dec. 12-30, 2015.