"It will probably be emotional for me, weird, all those things," Williams said earlier this week. "I'm happy I got one out of the way already against them in Washington [on Feb. 16]. But going back to that arena, obviously [I have] a lot of great memories. The greatest memories of my career are there. Obviously a special place. It always will be."
Williams has fit in seamlessly with the Capitals, who have played in 11 straight one-goal games. It's not a surprise to his former teammates.
"I think he's going to find a spot anywhere," Kings defenseman Rob Scuderi said at the Kings' practice facility. "He's always been a big-game player, and a guy who's been consistent throughout his career. So I don't think it's a shock to me that he's doing well in Washington."
Richards played 14:58 minutes against the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, his second-most this season. He signed with Washington on Jan. 6.
Scuderi is familiar with the Eastern Conference and said the Capitals are as formidable as their record suggests.
"They seem a more complete team, now," Scuderi said. "They're just a more well-grounded, grittier team, and I think that's made them much harder to compete against."
Here are the projected lineups:
CAPITALS
Alex Ovechkin - Nicklas Backstrom - T.J. Oshie
Andre Burakovsky - Evgeny Kuznetsov - Justin Williams
Jason Chimera - Marcus Johansson - Tom Wilson
Daniel Winnik - Mike Richards - Jay Beagle
Karl Alzner - Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik - Dmitry Orlov
Mike Weber - Taylor Chorney
Braden Holtby
Philipp Grubauer
Injured: None
Scratched: Nate Schmidt, Michael Latta, Stanislav Galiev
KINGS
Milan Lucic - Anze Kopitar - Jeff Carter
Tanner Pearson - Vincent Lecavalier - Tyler Toffoli
Dwight King - Trevor Lewis - Dustin Brown
Kyle Clifford - Nicholas Shore - Kris Versteeg
Rob Scuderi - Drew Doughty
Jake Muzzin - Alec Martinez
Brayden McNabb - Luke Schenn
Jonathan Quick
Jhonas Enroth
Injured: Marian Gaborik (knee), Matt Greene (shoulder), Jordan Nolan (undisclosed)
Scratched: Jamie McBain, Andy Andreoff
Status report:Holtby is expected to start for Washington. … Chorney will play, according to the Washington Post. … Carter was on the top line, as he was Monday against the Vancouver Canucks. … Quick was off the ice first.
Who's hot:Niskanen has two goals in his past four games. … Burakovsky has a goal and an assist in his past two games. … Kopitar has a four-game point streak.
