WASHINGTON -- Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin will have another chance to pass Sergei Fedorov's record of most NHL goals by a Russian-born player when the Capitals play the Calgary Flames on Friday at Verizon Center (7 p.m. ET; SNW, CSN-DC). He tied Fedorov’s record of 483 goals Nov. 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Ovechkin scored a second goal against the Maple Leafs and had a goal Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers but both were waved off after video reviews.

With the record so close, the Flames are preparing for Ovechkin to be even more driven to score than usual.

"His linemates are always looking for him and I'm expecting they're going to be looking even more tonight for him," Flames coach Bob Hartley said. "He's a guy that can beat you on the rush, can beat you driving to the net and beat you parked in his spot waiting for that big release."

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin has seven goals through 11 games this season but has yet to score on the power play.

Ovechkin, who is one goal from tying Sergei Fedorov for the most by a Russian-born player (483), scored an NHL-leading 25 of his 53 goals last season on the power play and has led the League in power-play goals the past three seasons. This season, he has one point on the power play, an assist in the season opener Oct. 10 against the New Jersey Devils.

The Capitals play the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at Verizon Center (7 p.m. ET; CBC, CSN-DC+).

While it seems uncharacteristic for Ovechkin to not be the one scoring at will on the power play, forward T.J. Oshie and defenseman John Carlson are just as capable at scoring on the man advantage as Ovechkin, and he's fine with that. Oshie and Carlson each have two power-play goals this season.

"We have so many options out there and we just have to find the one and it's going to work," Ovechkin said. "It doesn't matter if it's going to be me or [Carlson] or [Oshie] or Niskanen. We just have to find the right one and put it in."

WASHINGTON -- The Boston Bruins were shut out in all three of their games against the Washington Capitals last season but they've put that behind them and are determined to have better results this season, starting Thursday when they face the Capitals at Verizon Center (7 p.m. ET; NESN, CSN-DC).

"It would be nice to score a goal against those guys, it's been a long time, but last year is a long way gone and it's a new season," Bruins forward David Krejci said. "We've been feeling pretty confident up front; we've got some good offense going, so we've got to keep it going. On the other hand, they have a really good team. They have some fast and skilled forwards up front, so we're going to have to take care of our own end and get some chances from there."

The Bruins rank third in the NHL in goals (42) and want to keep that going against the Capitals. Boston hasn't scored a regular-season goal against Washington since March 29, 2014, a game the Bruins won 4-2.

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Columbus Blue Jackets center Ryan Johansen will play Friday against the Washington Capitals at Verizon Center (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, CSN-DC).

Johansen missed two games because of an undisclosed illness. He told the Blue Jackets website Thursday that he felt like he was back to feeling 100 percent and was ready to play.

Columbus coach John Tortorella said he will be keeping a close eye on Johansen during the game Friday, as he remains concerned about the center's energy levels.

"I don't have any expectations," Tortorella said. "We're going to play him. [I'm] a little concerned, judging from yesterday's practice, just the time off, just a little bit of the struggle he's had as far as his energy. I'm going to monitor that very closely during the game. He struggled through the practice yesterday. We'll see how it goes as the game goes on."

WASHINGTON -- Pittsburgh Penguins forward Beau Bennett will return to the lineup against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday at Verizon Center.

Bennett missed five games because of an undisclosed injury sustained Oct. 13 against the Montreal Canadiens.

It's not clear where in the lineup Bennett will play. The Penguins did not do any line rushes at their morning skate Wednesday.

"He'll be moved up and down in the lineup, but he'll be in tonight," Penguins coach Mike Johnston said. "That last game he had was a very good game for him. He had a very good training camp for us, carried the puck well and I think when he manages the puck, carries it well, plays with that competitive edge that we need from him, then he's on his game."

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Washington Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom will make his season debut against the Carolina Hurricanes at Verizon Center on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; FS-SE, CSN-DC).

"It's nice to be back," Backstrom said. "It's tough to watch games from the side. It's fun to be in."

Backstrom had arthroscopic hip surgery on May 27 and has missed three games this season. He was expected to miss at least 4-5 games at the start of the season and Backstrom said being able to return a little sooner than anticipated is a nice surprise.

Last season, Backstrom played in all 82 games and led the team with 60 assists.

"I've been feeling good, no setbacks," Backstrom said. "I feel like I've been doing my best to get back as fast as possible with no rush. It's been working out well."

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Forward Chandler Stephenson has been recalled by the Washington Capitals from Hershey of the American League and will make his NHL debut Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks at Verizon Center.

Stephenson likely will play on the Capitals' fourth line with Brooks Laich and Stanislav Galiev, replacing Michael Latta in the lineup.

Coach Barry Trotz hopes small shakeups like the Stephenson move and inserting Taylor Chorney on defense will provide the spark the Capitals need to compete with the Blackhawks. The Capitals lost 5-0 to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday in their second game of the season and Trotz doesn't want a repeat.

"I just need a little bit more," Trotz said. "I feel that we can play better, individuals can play better. We're looking for the right mix right now and we have some flexibility so we're going to try to do that. I'm looking for a little bit of change in the way we're playing and executing and hopefully we get a good result."

WASHINGTON -- The San Jose Sharks have been perfect on the penalty kill so far this season and hope to continue that trend when they play the Washington Capitals on Tuesday at Verizon Center in the first stop on their four-game East Coast trip.

The Sharks are 7-for-7 on the penalty kill through two games.

Washington had the top-ranked power play in the NHL last season. They boast one of the biggest offensive threats in the League on the man-advantage in Alex Ovechkin, who scored a League-high 25 of his 53 goals on the power play in 2014-15.

"We spent a little extra time on it today just because of how dangerous Washington's power play is, how different it is than most power plays," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "Obviously the Ovechkin factor with him sitting out there is something we wanted to talk about."

Alex Ovechkin will not play for the Capitals because of personal reasons.

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Defenseman Brooks Orpik will play in the Washington Capitals season opener against the New Jersey Devils at Verizon Center on Saturday.

Orpik had surgery July 28 to repair a wrist injury and did not participate in training camp or appear any preseason games.

As part of Washington's top defense pairing with John Carlson last season, Orpik had 19 points in 78 games and averaged 21:47 of ice time per game. That included 2:47 per game shorthanded, second to Carlson.

Orpik started practicing Oct. 2 and still wears a small brace on his left wrist. He said the braces will get smaller during his recovery until he no longer needs to wear one.

ARLINGTON, Va. -- For success in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the New York Rangers on Sunday at Verizon Center (7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVA Sports, NBCSN), the Washington Capitals are looking back at another game for inspiration.

They're using Game 7 of the first round against the New York Islanders as a blueprint for how they want to play in Game 6 of the second round.

"I thought that [Game 7 against the Islanders] was our best game of the year and it's a good thing it came in playoffs," Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby said Sunday. "It shows that we have the capabilities of stepping up in big games and we're going to have to do that again."