Capitals at Coyotes
A five-game road trip is doing nothing to slow the Washington Capitals' momentum in their pursuit of their second consecutive Presidents' Trophy. The league-best Capitals have ripped off six consecutive victories as they prepare to visit the Arizona Coyotes on Friday night in the third stop of their season-long trek.
Washington is making it a point not to look past the sagging Coyotes with a showdown looming Sunday at Columbus, which trails the Capitals by four points for first place in the Metropolitan Division and the top seed in the Eastern Conference. “I’d like to be in a position where we have a three-point cushion in Columbus and go into Columbus and win that hockey game," coach Barry Trotz said after Wednesday's 5-3 win at Colorado. "Now we’ve got to take care of business before we even get there. That’s why I say, just win the day and stay focused on the task at hand.” Arizona has lost seven of its last eight games (1-6-1), including a 4-1 setback at Washington on Saturday.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic Plus (Washington), FSN Arizona, NHL.TV
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (51-17-8): Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk has collected seven assists in five games to boost his career-best point total to 53. Yet he's more concerned that Washington struggled to protect three-goal leads in the past two contests. “The thing we have to focus on now is why we’re letting up those 4-1 leads, and it’s really just getting a little too casual," Shattenkirk said. "We just have to make sure we’re maintaining our game plan, and then those leads will go up even more.”
ABOUT THE COYOTES (27-41-9): Arizona has dropped four in a row, scoring one goal in each, and is receiving few favors from the schedule-makers with the home-and-home against St. Louis wedged between a pair of matchups against Washington. “We’re just playing in our D-zone too much," said blue-liner Alex Goligoski, who scored the lone goal in Wednesday's loss. "Eventually you break.” Captain Shane Doan, sidelined for the past seven games, could be back in the lineup against the Capitals.
OVERTIME
1. The Capitals are 9-for-19 on the power play over the past six games.
2. Coyotes F Clayton Keller, in his second game, is the eighth Arizona player to notch his first NHL point this season.
3. Washington has recorded four win streaks of at least six games for the first time in club history.