Caps Host Preds on Thursday

April 5 vs. Nashville Predators at Capital One Arena

Time:7:00 p.m.

TV: NBCSN and NBC Sports Washington

Radio:106.7 FM and Capitals Radio 24/7

Nashville Predators 51-18-11Washington Capitals 48-25-7

Their regular season road schedule now behind them, the Caps return home to finish off the schedule with a couple of home games. First up are the Nashville Predators, who make their lone visit of the season to the District on Thursday night.

While they were off on their final two-game road trip of the season, the Caps took care of some business, sewing up a third straight Metropolitan Division title by virtue of Sunday's 3-1 win over the Penguins in Pittsburgh. While these last two regular games are nothing more than a couple of tune-ups for the postseason from Washington's standpoint, the Preds still haven't sewn up the Central Division title or the Presidents' Trophy.

A night after nailing down the Metro crown, the Caps went into St. Louis and put a significant dent in the Blues' postseason hopes with a 4-2 victory over the Blues. That triumph extended the Capitals' road winning streak to five straight games, its longest of the season and just one shy of matching the franchise record for consecutive road wins.

Beginning with a March 10 win over the Sharks in San Jose, the Caps have now won 11 of their last 13 games overall. They'll finish the season with a 21-15-5 road record, one of only two teams in the Metropolitan Division to win more than half of its road games in 2017-18. New Jersey is 21-14-5 on the road with one away game remaining, on Saturday in the District.

"I think if you're going to be successful in the playoffs, you have to be successful on the road," says Caps center Nicklas Backstrom. "Obviously, you've got to win your home games, but on the road is going to be key. Hopefully, that is something positive we can bring into the playoffs."

The Caps took a well-deserved day off on Tuesday upon returning from their last road trip of the season, and they were back on the ice Wednesday morning for a practice session at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. Washington's roster has swelled by three players since the Caps played in St. Louis on Monday night; the Caps recalled defenseman Madison Bowey and center Travis Boyd from AHL Hershey on Tuesday, and they announced the signing of 2013 draftee Brian Pinho to an entry level contract.

Pinho was the Caps' sixth-round choice (174thoverall) in the 2013 NHL Draft. He recently completed his four-year collegiate career at Providence, and signed with Washington, similar to the path Shane Gersich took roughly 10 days ago. As was the case with Gersich, Pinho reported to Washington right away, and he practiced with his new teammates on Wednesday.

"It's awesome, I'm very excited to be here," says Pinho, who has been to numerous summer developmental camps at Kettler since his draft year. "Obviously the guys have been very welcoming. Everyone said hello to me, so that was good. It's a little different than development camp; the pace is a little quicker. But it was a good first day."

All three of those players will be available to the Caps for these final two regular season games, giving Caps coach Barry Trotz the option of resting a few players heading into the playoffs, should he and the players decide that rest is necessary. With Jay Beagle still on the sidelines with an upper body injury, it's likely that Boyd would step into that void on Thursday against the Predators.

"I think he is intelligent," says Trotz of Boyd. "You watch him defensively and offensively, and he's got a really good hockey IQ. He competes, and he's got real good quickness - small area quickness. I wouldn't say he is the fastest up and down the ice. He is deceptive, but he is really quick in small areas. The way he sees and reads the plays is really quick, and so it adds to his speed. He makes things happen."

If Trotz wants to try to work Boyd or Bowey or Pinho into the lineup, he should have some options as far as guys who could use a night off. In addition to Beagle, T.J. Oshie missed Monday night's game against the Blues. Caps captain Alex Ovechkin took a maintenance day and did not practice on Wednesday. Whether he is a candidate to sit out one or both of the final two regular season games remains to be seen. Ovechkin has 46 goals and is seeking another 50-goal season and another Rocket Richard Trophy.

Washington (103 points) and Nashville (113) are separated by 10 points in the standings, but the two teams enter Thursday's game with same number of regulation/overtime victories (45) this season. The Preds are tied for second in the league with six shootout wins on the season, and they've also amassed 11 overtime/shootout losses.

Nashville plays its final road game of the season on Thursday in D.C., concluding a three-game road trip here before heading home to host Columbus on Saturday in Music City. Thursday's game against the Capitals will be the rubber game of the trip for the Preds, who defeated the Lightning 4-1 in Tampa on Sunday before falling to the Panthers in South Florida on Tuesday by a 2-1 count.

The Preds made their first trip to the Stanley Cup final last spring, bowing to the Penguins in six games. They made that impressive 2017 playoff run as the seventh seed in the Western Conference, but they feature an even more stacked and loaded lineup this time around, and are seen as favorites to emerge from the west once again.

Nashville added center Nick Bonino via free agency last summer, and it made in-season deals to add center Kyle Turris (from Ottawa) and winger Ryan Hartman (from Chicago). Nashville also lured longtime Preds pivot Mike Fisher out of retirement to center its fourth line.