Blue Jackets at Capitals preview

BLUE JACKETS (27-22-4) at CAPITALS (31-17-5)
7 p.m. ET; NBCSWA, FS-O, NHL.TV

The Blue Jackets are 0-3-1 in their past four games, but hold the second wild-card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The Capitals defeated the Blue Jackets 3-2 in Columbus on Tuesday.
Washington, which leads the Atlantic Division by four points over the Pittburgh Penguins, has lost two of its past three games and five of its past eight.

Players to watch

Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who has lost three straight starts, is 1-2-1 in his past four starts with a .933 save percentage and 2.23 goals-against average.
Capitals rookie Christian Djoos has an assist in four straight games, tied with John Carlson for the longest streak by a Washington defenseman this season.

They said it

"I thought for a few games a couple of weeks ago, he was coming. The last game, to me, it just wasn't good enough. He's trying. But it's just not quick enough right now as far as his pace." -- Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella on forward Boone Jenner, who has one goal in his past 15 games
"There's still 29 games left. It's a little bit early to throw in the towel and say we can beat [Columbus] tonight and then not worry about them. You can't do that. You've got to keep playing, especially against divisional opponents that can be streaky." -- Capitals forward Tom Wilson on possibly sweeping the Blue Jackets this week

Blue Jackets projected lineup

Artemi Panarin -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Cam Atkinson
Oliver Bjorkstrand -- Alex Wennberg -- Nick Foligno
Boone Jenner -- Brandon Dubinsky -- Josh Anderson
Matt Calvert -- Lukas Sedlak -- Jussi Jokinen
Zach Werenski -- Seth Jones
Jack Johnson -- Markus Nutivaara
Dean Kukan -- David Savard
Sergei Bobrovsky
Jeff Zatkoff

Scratched:Scott Harrington, Markus HannikainenInjured: Ryan Murray (upper body), Sonny Milano (oblique)

Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin -- Nicklas Backstrom -- Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- T.J. Oshie
Brett Connolly -- Lars Eller -- Alex Chiasson
Chandler Stephenson -- Jay Beagle -- Devante Smith-Pelly
Dmitry Orlov -- Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik -- John Carlson
Christian Djoos -- Madison Bowey
Braden Holtby
Philipp Grubauer
Scratched: Andre Burakovsky, Taylor Chorney
Injured:None

Status report

Columbus did not have a morning skate. … Burakovsky is expected to be a healthy scratch and miss his sixth game in the past 15.

Stat pack

The Blue Jackets have allowed a power-play goal in six consecutive games. … The Capitals have earned a point in 11 of their past 12 games against Columbus (9-1-2). ... Ovechkin leads the NHL in goals (32) and has 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in his past 15 games. ... Kuznetsov is on a five-game point streak (one goal, six assists).