Caps Face Boston in Super Sunday Matinee

Feb. 3 vs. Boston Bruins at Capital One Arena
Time:12:30 p.m.
TV: NBC
Radio: Capitals Radio 24/7, FAN 106.7
Boston Bruins 27-17-7
Washington Capitals 28-17-6

Washington's six-game homestand continues with its annual Super Bowl Sunday matinee match. This year, the Boston Bruins are in town to supply the opposition and to close out the season's series between the two Eastern Conference foes.
The Caps blanked Boston 7-0 here on opening night of the 2018-19 season, the night they hoisted their first Stanley Cup championship banner to the rafters of Capital One Arena. Last month in Boston, the Caps ran their winning streak over the Bruins to 14 straight. Boston has not defeated Washington since March 29, 2014.
Playing without captain Alex Ovechkin, who was serving a league-mandated one-game suspension for skipping the All-Star Game, the Caps started the homestand off on a strong note, cooling off the Calgary Flames by a 4-3 count on Friday night. The victory halted Washington's seven-game slide (0-5-2), its longest in more than five years. With Boston in town on Sunday, the Caps will be seeking to get a streak started in the opposite direction.

"I thought that we were mentally sharper in the [Calgary] game," says Caps coach Todd Reirden, "so I thought that we made fewer big mistakes that are ones that you kind of scratch your head at and say, 'Why did that just happen?' That was some of what we were seeing for the prior couple of weeks before the break. Mistakes were made in the game [Friday] night for certain, but there were less mental errors than there have been. I think that will help us be more predictable to one another in all areas of the ice."
Before Friday's win over the Flames, the Caps had won just three of their previous 13 games (3-7-3) and they were virtually bleeding goals against. Washington yielded an average of more than five goals per game over the life of its seven-game losing streak. Calgary is the league's second most prolific offensive team, and the Caps were able to overcome them by tightening up in the neutral zone and defending better off the rush.
"For the most part, we limited odd-man rushes against them, compared to what we were doing before the break," says Reirden. "Those are things that are important, and it comes back to the structure. To me, our structure through the neutral zone [Friday] was completely different than what it was for many games before the break, and it was something that was discussed."
While Washington played without Ovechkin in Friday's win, the Caps may find themselves without center Lars Eller for Sunday's game against the Bruins. After turning in a strong first period performance and collecting a primary assist in Friday's win over the Flames, Eller suffered a lower body injury early in the second and missed the remainder of the game. He did not practice with his teammates on Saturday and his presence in Sunday's lineup will be a game time decision according to Reirden.

When the Caps downed the Bruins in Beantown just over three weeks ago, they also halted a five-game Boston winning streak. Beginning with that loss to the Caps on Jan. 10, the Bruins have won only two of their last eight games (2-3-3).
Like the Capitals, the Bruins are hanging in the chase for the eight postseason berths from the Eastern Conference.
Boston's top forward line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak is one of the league's top units, and that trio has been the foundation of the Boston attack for the last three seasons. Pastrnak has reached the 30-goal plateau for each of those three seasons - including the current one - and Marchand is aiming for his fourth straight season with 30 or more goals in 2018-19. Bergeron will play in his 999th career NHL game on Sunday against the Caps. Arguably the game's top two-way pivot, Bergeron has four career 30-goal seasons in his 15 campaigns in the league.
All three players are Boston drafted and developed, and all three have spent the entirety of their careers in a Bruins sweater. As the trade deadline approaches, the B's will be likely be looking to augment and diversify their attack. As currently constituted, the Bruins are probably too dependent upon the Bergeron line for offense. Boston scored 38 goals in January, and the Bergeron line accounted for 18 of them (47.4 percent). On the season, that trio has combined for 65 of Boston's 147 goals (44.2 percent).
Having just faced Calgary's torrid top line on Friday may help the Caps as they take on the Bruins on Sunday. The two teams are similarly constructed in some ways.
"Yeah, I think it helps," says Caps goaltender Braden Holtby. "They are similar in a lot of ways. What makes Calgary good - their top line is obviously very skilled and very good - is their defense kind of runs their team. They're very mobile, very good at getting pucks through and smart in that way.
"When you couple that especially with their top line, you get a dangerous five-man attack. And that's very similar to Boston where you have [Charlie] McAvoy and [Torey] Krug and those guys. They're mobile, they're smart, and they play well with those top skill players. So they do have a lot of similarities."