Penguins at Capitals preview

PENGUINS (6-4-3) at CAPITALS (6-4-3)
7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVAS

The game is part of NHL Veterans Appreciation Night presented by Navy Federal Credit Union.
The Capitals, who are coming off a 4-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday, are 0-3-2 in games following victories this season.
The Penguins have lost four straight (0-3-1), getting outscored 19-6 over that stretch. Pittsburgh is 4-0-1 in its past five road games.
Backup goalie Casey DeSmith will face the Capitals for the first time after Matt Murray started the past four games.
Goalie Braden Holtby will start for Washington after Pheonix Copley made 31 saves against Edmonton.
The Penguins defeated the Capitals 7-6 in overtime in their first game this season Oct. 4.

Players to watch

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has 65 points (20 goals, 45 assists) in 46 games against the Capitals.
Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin has 57 points (34 goals, 23 assists) in 53 games against the Penguins.

They said it

"He's played extremely well for us to this point. He's given us a chance to win on most nights and Matt just played four games in a row. I think there's been some inconsistency in our overall team game, so that's part of the decision making." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan on starting Casey DeSmith
"It's different. There's a certain level of hate, there's a level of respect and when you mix those in, it usually makes for a pretty nasty, fun hockey game. So it's always fun playing in these rivalry games." -- Capitals forward T.J. Oshie on facing the Penguins

Penguins projected lineup

Dominik Simon -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust
Carl Hagelin -- Evgeni Malkin -- Patric Hornqvist
Jake Guentzel -- Riley Sheahan -- Phil Kessel
Zach Aston-Reese -- Matt Cullen -- Garrett Wilson
Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang
Olli Maatta -- Chad Ruhwedel
Jack Johnson -- Jamie Oleksiak
Casey DeSmith
Matt Murray
Scratched:Juuso Riikola, Daniel Sprong
Injured:Justin Schultz (left leg fracture), Derick Brassard (lower body)

Capitals projected lineup

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

Status report

Aston-Reese and Wilson will make their season debuts after being recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Tuesday. … Orpik has yet to resume skating and will miss his fourth straight game.

Stat pack

DeSmith is 2-0-2 with a 2.25 goals-against average, .932 save percentage and one shutout in seven appearances this season. … Oleksiak will play in his 200th NHL game. … Backstrom will be honored during a pregame ceremony for becoming the first Capitals player to get 600 assists. He reached the milestone against the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 22.