Penguins at Capitals preview

PENGUINS (37-17-6) at CAPITALS (37-18-6)
12 p.m. ET; NBC, TVAS

The Penguins have lost two games in a row, including 5-2 to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, after going 12-3-1 in their previous 16.
The Capitals are 0-3-1 in their past four games, including a 3-2 loss at the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
Alex Ovechkin became the eighth player with 700 NHL goals when he scored against New Jersey. It was his second straight game with a goal after a five-game drought.

Players to watch

Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin scored his 19th and 20th goals against the Sabres, giving him seven straight seasons with at least 20.
Capitals defenseman John Carlson has 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in the past 10 games and is tied with Calle Johansson for most points by a defenseman in Washington history (474).

They said it

"It's a huge game for us, for both teams. We need to be ready. It's an early game. Same as [Saturday]. We were not ready (against the Sabres). I have a couple of mistakes in the first period. It's not right. We need to be focused and start the game like we played second and third period. -- Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin
"You've got to really dig deep and worry about what's in front of you and what you can control. We're on the right path right now but certainly not good enough to break out of it. Sometimes, it's going to take some heroics maybe, sometimes it's going to be lucky, but whatever it is, you've got to find that thing." -- Capitals defenseman John Carlson

Penguins projected lineup

Jason Zucker -- Sidney Crosby -- Dominik Simon
Anthony Angello -- Evgeni Malkin -- Bryan Rust
Jared McCann -- Andrew Agozzino -- Patric Hornqvist
Brandon Tanev -- Teddy Blueger -- Sam Lafferty
Jack Johnson -- Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson -- Justin Schultz
Juuso Riikola -- Chad Ruhwedel
Matt Murray
Tristan Jarry
Scratched: Zach Trotman
Injured: Nick Bjugstad (core muscle surgery), Brian Dumoulin (ankle surgery), Jake Guentzel (shoulder surgery), John Marino (facial surgery), Zach Aston-Reese (lower body), Dominik Kahun (undisclosed)

Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana -- Nicklas Backstrom -- T.J. Oshie
Carl Hagelin -- Lars Eller -- Richard Panik
Brendan Leipsic -- Nic Dowd -- Garnet Hathaway
Brenden Dillon -- John Carlson
Michal Kempny -- Radko Gudas
Dmitry Orlov -- Nick Jensen
Braden Holtby
Ilya Samsonov
Scratched:Travis Boyd, Jonas Siegenthaler
Injured: None

Status report

Kahun is a game-time decision. The forward did not play against the Sabres after he was injured blocking a shot with his left leg in a 4-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday. ... Holtby will make his fourth start in five games. Samsonov allowed three goals on 29 shots against the Devils. ... Gudas is in for Siegenthaler.

Stat pack

Crosby has been held without a point in two straight games for the first time since he returned Jan. 14 after missing 28 games following core muscle surgery. He has 23 points (seven goals, 16 assists) in 15 games since coming back. ... Crosby has 71 points (24 goals, 47 assists) in 50 games against Washington. ... Ovechkin has 59 points (35 goals, 24 assists) in 57 games against Pittsburgh.