Penguins at Capitals preview

PENGUINS (15-12-6) at CAPITALS (20-9-3)
8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVAS

Ovechkin has 10 goals during a six-game streak; he scored in seven consecutive games from Feb. 10-March 8, 2006. He has 17 goals and six assists during his NHL career-long 14-game point streak.
He is one away from joining Mike Gartner as the only players in NHL history to begin their career with 14 straight 30-goal seasons. Gartner scored at least 30 goals in his first 15 seasons, a League record.
The Capitals have won five straight games and are 12-2-0 in their past 14. They have scored at least four goals in nine of their past 10 games.
The Penguins are 5-2-1 in their past eight games. Pittsburgh forward Patric Hornqvist, who has missed the past six games because of an upper-body injury, is a game-time decision, although coach Mike Sullivan said he is "very probable."

Players to watch

Penguins center Sidney Crosby has one goal in his past six games and four assists during a three-game point streak.
Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom has 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) in his past 14 games.

They said it

"He just brings so much energy. I think his play speaks for itself, what he does for us on the forecheck and going to the net. He just makes us harder to play against." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan on Hornqvist
"They don't like us. We don't like them. … It's a rivalry. That's what makes hockey great. No one wants to see two teams out there just liking each other. You want to see battles. You want to see hard-nosed hockey. That's what it is every time we play Pittsburgh." -- Capitals forward Tom Wilson

Penguins projected lineup

Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust
Zach Aston-Reese -- Evgeni Malkin -- Phil Kessel
Tanner Pearson -- Derick Brassard -- Patric Hornqvist
Riley Sheahan -- Matt Cullen -- Garrett Wilson
Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang
Olli Maatta -- Jamie Oleksiak
Marcus Pettersson -- Jack Johnson
Matt Murray
Casey DeSmith
Scratched:Chad Ruhwedel, Derek Grant
Injured:Justin Schultz (fractured left leg), Dominik Simon (lower body)

Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin -- Nicklas Backstrom -- T.J. Oshie
Jakub Vrana -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson
Brett Connolly -- Lars Eller -- Devante Smith-Pelly
Dmitrij Jaskin -- Nic Dowd -- Travis Boyd
Michal Kempny -- John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov -- Matt Niskanen
Jonas Siegenthaler -- Madison Bowey
Braden Holtby
Pheonix Copley
Scratched:Andre Burakovsky, Chandler Stephenson, Tyler Lewington
Injured:Christian Djoos (leg), Brooks Orpik (knee)

Status report

Simon skated with the Penguins but is not expected to play.… Orpik took part in the morning skate wearing a non-contact jersey.

Stat Pack

Malkin has one goal in his past seven games. … Ovechkin is one power-play goal from passing Brendan Shanahan (237) for sole possession of sixth place on NHL all-time list. Kuznetsov has 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in an eight-game point streak.