#CapsStars Skate Shavings: Star Crossed

It has been more than a month now since the Capitals have played consecutive games at Capital One Arena. On Tuesday night, they'll host the Dallas Stars in the last of six straight one-game homestands at Cap One.

Dallas has won six straight games here in Washington; the Caps' last home ice victory over the Stars came on Nov. 30, 2006, and it's one of just two games Washington has won over Dallas in D.C. (2-7-2) since moving from suburban Maryland to downtown in 1997. The Caps downed Dallas in overtime back in December, so if they're able to take down the Stars tonight it would mark the first time Washington has won two games in the same season against Dallas since 1995-96.

Busy Night -Washington has 10 games remaining in the regular season, and it enters tonight's game with a two-point lead over second-place Pittsburgh in the Metropolitan Division standings.

The Caps' four-game winning streak was halted on Sunday in a 6-3 loss to the Flyers in Philadelphia, and it's fairly critical for the Caps to get back in the win column here tonight. In addition to Pittsburgh nipping at the Caps' heels in the Metro standings, both Philadelphia and Columbus are only four points behind Washington.

Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Columbus are also in action on Tuesday night. All three of those teams are on the road and facing also-ran teams. New Jersey - the fifth place team in the Metro and the current occupant of the second wild card spot - is also in action on Tuesday, facing the Sharks in San Jose.

"It's very important that you hit your stride going into the playoffs," says Caps center Lars Eller. "And we're going to face another team tonight that's battling for a playoff spot. We know they're going to be coming out hard and fighting for their lives just as Philly was, so we've got to bring our best."

Healing Quickly? - After Monday's practice, Caps coach Barry Trotz pronounced ailing center Evgeny Kuznetsov (upper body) and injured defenseman Brooks Orpik (lower body) as "doubtful" for Tuesday's game against Dallas.

Kuznetsov skated on his own ahead of Monday's practice and did so again on Tuesday ahead of his teammates' morning skate, and Trotz said he believes Kuznetsov will be traveling with the Caps on Wednesday when they depart for Detroit, where they'll open up a three-game road trip on Thursday night.

Orpik did not skate on Monday, but he was on the ice for Tuesday's optional morning skate, and he seemed to be moving about without any noticeable restrictions. Orpik would seem to be on a faster track - and Trotz admitted as much on Monday - to the point where he might actually play on Tuesday against the Stars.

"He is going to be a game time decision," says Trotz. "We'll see how he is."

Star Gazing - Dallas has come to the final stop of a season-long six-game road trip, and it is still looking for its first victory on the journey (0-3-2). Dallas has dropped six straight road games (0-4-2) and it has won only one of its last nine road games (1-6-2). The Stars have scored only 16 goals in those last nine road games, and only a dozen of them at even strength. Half of that total of 16 goals has come from the Stars' top forward trio of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov.

"Start with their top line," says Trotz. "There is almost 200 points on that top line with obviously Jamie Benn, Radulov and Seguin. And then you add [John] Klingberg on the back end, and that threesome and that defenseman joining the attack, they're good offensively and they're structured.

"They're a top six team defensively, and they're playing hard. They haven't gotten the results, but I watched their game [on Sunday] against Winnipeg, that was a playoff game. That was a physical, in-your-face game. They just didn't get the results; they had lots of chances but they just couldn't get another one past [Jets goalie Connor] Hellebuyck."

Entering tonight's game, the Stars are two points behind Anaheim for the final Western Conference playoff berth. Dallas has only nine games remaining, and it must play five of those games on the road, where it has struggled. The Stars are going to have to pull some points on the road in order to make the playoffs, and they've had a run of success here in Washington over the last decade.

"They don't beat themselves, usually," says Trotz. "That's not the case with the Stars. They're probably the most desperate team we've played. The Islanders had their backs to the wall, but there was distance [between them and the pack]. They're right in the mix for that 7-8-9 spot, sort of tied with all those [teams] and right there.

"So this is probably going to be the most desperate team we've played in the last little while here. I anticipate them being ready to go, and I anticipate us having a better response than we had in Philly. Hopefully it will be quite the match."

The Caps will need to contain that top Dallas trio - it has accounted for 13 of the Stars' 23 goals this month - and they'll need to stay out of the box and/or neutralize the Dallas power play, which is 6-for-15 (40%) in its last six games.

In The Nets -Braden Holtby gets the net for Washington tonight, seeking to string together a second straight victory after he won his 30th game of the season in his most recent start, a 6-3 win over the New York Islanders on Friday.

"I think [the fans] are making more out of it now than really needs to be," says Trotz. "I'm just trying to get both of them playing well. Grubi has had a good stretch, and Holts is resetting. So we've just been going game-to-game; Grubi went last [game] and Holts is going tonight.

"I will probably keep the rotation through this week and then go from there, just because we've got so many games. It allows everybody to stay as fresh as we can. They're both hopefully heading in the right direction.

"Goaltending is a good thing to have in the playoffs, so we want them both going actually. I don't just want one; I want both of them going. The playoffs are an interesting part of the season where things can change in a second. I just one everybody going, and goaltending is obviously one area [where that's important]."

Holtby earned his first career victory over the Stars in Texas back in December. Lifetime against Dallas, he is just 1-4-0 with a 4.32 GAA and an .859 save pct.

Stars goalie Ben Bishop was injured on Sunday against Winnipeg, and he will be out of action for a while. That's not great news for the Caps; they've fared well against Bishop over the years, but have struggled against his partner, Kari Lehtonen, who will be in net tonight for Dallas.

Lehtonen has scuffled this month, but so has his team. He is 1-4-2 this month, with a 2.93 GAA and an .898 save pct. Lifetime against the Capitals, Lehtonen is 18-6-3 with a couple of shutouts, a 2.61 GAA and a .921 save pct. in 27 career appearances.

All Lined Up -Here's how we expect the Caps and the Stars to look for their Tuesday night tilt at Capital One Arena:

WASHINGTONForwards

8-Ovechkin, 19-Backstrom, 43-Wilson

65-Burakovsky, 20-Eller, 77-Oshie

13-Vrana, 72-Boyd, 10-Chiasson

18-Stephenson, 83-Beagle, 25-Smith-Pelly

Defensemen

6-Kempny, 74-Carlson

9-Orlov, 2-Niskanen

44-Orpik, 29-Djoos

Goaltenders

70-Holtby

31-Grubauer

Scratches

28-Jerabek

39-Chiasson

Injured

92-Kuznetsov (upper body)

DALLASForwards

14-Benn, 91-Seguin, 47-Radulov

13-Janmark, 12-Faksa, 18-Pitlick

21-Roussel, 90-Spezza, 17-Shore

40-Elie, 16-Dickinson, 25-Ritchie

Defensemen

23-Lindell, 3-Klingberg

2-Hamhuis, 29-Pateryn

28-Johns, 6-Honka

Goaltenders

32-Lehtonen

35-McKenna

Scratches

46-Smith

48-Heatherington

Injuries

10-Hanzal (back)

30-Bishop (lower body)

33-Methot (hand)