Capitals at Predators preview

CAPITALS (10-7-1) at PREDATORS (9-5-2)
8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NCSSWA, NHL.TV

Washington defenseman Matt Niskanen will be back in the lineup after missing 13 games with an upper-body injury. He is expected to replace Taylor Chorney. Niskanen skated with Dmitry Orlov during the morning skate.
Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby will attempt to win his seventh straight start; he has allowed 11 goals in his past six starts for Washington, 5-1-0 in its past six games.
Predators forward Scott Hartnell will be out 3-5 weeks with a lower-body injury and Nashville defenseman Yannick Weber will be out 2-4 weeks with a lower-body injury. Each was placed on injured reserve.

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Players to watch

Capitals forward Lars Eller and defenseman John Carlson each has six points (two goals, four assists) in his past six games.
Predators forward Calle Jarnkrok has four points (two goals, two assists) in a three-game point streak.

They said it

"It sounds like I've got the green light to go ahead and play tonight, so excited to be back. It's not the best situation to be away from the team. I'm excited to be back in there tonight and see what I can do." -- Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen
"I think we're playing fast right now. I think Saturday there were some things we could have done better defensively, but I thought it was a pretty fast game and we played pretty fast and played with a lot of energy. I think that's the staple of our game, and that's what we need to do to be successful." -- Predators defenseman Roman Josi

Capitals projected lineup

Chandler Stephenson -- Nicklas Backstrom -- T.J. Oshie
Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Devante Smith-Pelly
Jakub Vrana -- Lars Eller -- Tom Wilson
Brett Connolly -- Jay Beagle -- Alex Chiasson
Dmitry Orlov -- Matt Niskanen
Christian Djoos -- John Carlson
Brooks Orpik -- Madison Bowey
Braden Holtby
Philipp Grubauer
Scratched: Nathan Walker, Aaron Ness, Taylor Chorney
Injured: Andre Burakovsky (fractured left thumb)

Predators projected lineup

Filip Forsberg -- Ryan Johansen -- Viktor Arvidsson
Kevin Fiala -- Kyle Turris -- Craig Smith
Miikka Salomaki -- Calle Jarnkrok -- Colton Sissons
Cody McLeod -- Nick Bonino -- Austin Watson
Roman Josi -- Mattias Ekholm
Alexei Emelin -- P.K. Subban
Matt Irwin -- Anthony Bitetto
Pekka Rinne
Juuse Saros
Scratched: None
Injured: Ryan Ellis (knee), Scott Hartnell (lower body), Yannick Weber (lower body)

Status report

The Capitals assigned forward Tyler Graovac to Hershey of the American Hockey League on a long-term conditioning loan. … The Predators did not go through line rushes at the morning skate.

Stat pack

Rinne is 6-1-1 with 16 goals allowed in his past eight starts. … Josi has three points (two goals, one assist) in his past two games. … Johansen has 21 shots on goal but has not yet scored this season.