Senators at Capitals preview

SENATORS (22-35-5) at CAPITALS (35-21-7)
7 p.m. ET; NBCSWA, RDS2, TSN5, NHL.TV

The Capitals are 3-1-0 in their past four games and 7-3-1 in their past 11. They trail the New York Islanders by two points for first place in the Metropolitan Division.
Ottawa, which has lost four straight and is 1-6-0 in its past seven games, has scored one goal in its past three games and will play its first game without forward Mark Stone, who was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday.

Players to watch

Senators forward Brady Tkachuk has six points (two goals, four assists) in his past six games.
Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has eight points (six goals, two assists) in a six-game point streak.

They said it

"Now that we know what's what, our focus is going to be very narrow, very specific…Their lives in the next month are not going to change in terms of being moved or whatever, and now they can really focus on, 'OK, this is my role or my new role' and it's all going to be about hockey until the end of the year." -- Senators coach Guy Boucher
"It's definitely a different style when you start playing those teams that are close to being mathematically eliminated and you've just got to make sure you're focused on your end of the ice, executing your game plan and not falling into what's going on at the other end."-- Capitals forward Tom Wilson

Senators projected lineup

Brady Tkachuk -- Colin White -- Anthony Duclair
Rudolfs Balcers
-- Chris Tierney -- Mikkel Boedker
Zack Smith -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Bobby Ryan
Brian Gibbons -- Oscar Lindberg -- Magnus Paajarvi
Thomas Chabot -- Dylan DeMelo
Mark Borowiecki -- Christian Jaros
Ben Harpur -- Cody Ceci
Anders Nilsson
Craig Anderson
Scratched: Christian Wolanin
Injured: None

Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana -- Nicklas Backstrom -- T.J. Oshie
Andre Burakovsky -- Lars Eller -- Brett Connolly
Carl Hagelin -- Nic Dowd -- Travis Boyd
Michal Kempny -- John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov -- Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik -- Nick Jensen
Braden Holtby
Pheonix Copley
Scratched:Dmitrij Jaskin, Chandler Stephenson, Christian Djoos
Injured: None

Status report

Borowiecki (foot) is expected to return after missing six games. … Boucher said he'll decide after the pregame warmup if he'll dress seven defensemen and 11 forwards. … Gibbons, acquired Monday from the Anaheim Ducks, and Lindberg, acquired Monday from the Golden Knights, will each make their Senators debut.

Stat pack

Ovechkin is three power-play goals from tying Phil Esposito (246) for fifth place on the NHL's all-time list. … Carlson is three assists from becoming third defenseman in Capitals history with consecutive 50-assist seasons (Scott Stevens 1986-89; Larry Murphy 1986-88).