Canucks at Capitals preview
Vancouver coming off scoring five power-play goals; Carlson can extend point streak for Washington
by Harvey Valentine / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
CANUCKS (11-8-4) at CAPITALS (16-4-4)
12:30 p.m. ET; SN1, SNE, SNO, SNP, NBCSWA, NHL.TV
The Game
John Carlson will try to extend his point streak to nine games when the Washington Capitals play the Vancouver Canucks at Capital One Arena on Saturday.
The defenseman has 13 points (one goal, 12 assists) during his streak. He had a nine-game streak from Oct. 8-24, scoring 18 points (five goals, 13 assists).
Washington is 13-2-2 in its past 17 games, outscoring opponents 65-49.
The Capitals allowed two power-play goals in their 4-1 loss at the New York Rangers on Wednesday.
The Canucks scored five power-play goals in a 6-3 win at the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
Vancouver, which will try for its second straight victory, is 2-5-2 in its past nine games after going 5-0-2 in its previous seven.
Players to watch
Canucks center Elias Pettersson had seven points (three goals, four assists) in his past five games.
Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin needs one power-play goal to tie Teemu Selanne (255) for third in NHL history.
They said it
"This is a team that can score in bunches. They know how to win. You look at their record this year, they're off to a great start again. It's going to be tough game." -- Canucks coach Travis Green on the Capitals
"We've made a few mistakes the last couple of games and they've ended up in the back of our net. They've been addressed and focused on and looked at. We spent some time on it and know it's a difficult challenge [against Vancouver]. -- Capitals coach Todd Reirden on Washington's penalty kill
Canucks projected lineup
Tanner Pearson -- Elias Pettersson -- Brock Boeser
J.T. Miller -- Bo Horvat -- Zack MacEwen
Josh Leivo -- Adam Gaudette -- Jake Virtanen
Tim Schaller -- Loui Eriksson -- Tyler Graovac
Alexander Edler -- Troy Stecher
Quinn Hughes -- Christopher Tanev
Jordie Benn -- Tyler Myers
Jacob Markstrom
Thatcher Demko
Scratched: Sven Baertschi, Oscar Fantenberg
Injured: Brandon Sutter (groin strain), Tyler Motte (foot), Antoine Roussel (knee), Micheal Ferland (concussion protocol), Jay Beagle (lower body)
Capitals projected lineup
Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana -- Lars Eller -- T.J. Oshie
Richard Panik -- Chandler Stephenson -- Travis Boyd
Beck Malenstyn -- Michael Sgarbossa -- Brendan Leipsic
Michal Kempny -- John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov -- Nick Jensen
Jonas Siegenthaler -- Radko Gudas
Braden Holtby
Ilya Samsonov
Scratched: Christian Djoos
Injured: Nicklas Backstrom (upper body), Nic Dowd (upper body), Carl Hagelin (upper body)
Suspended: Garnet Hathaway
Status report
Beagle will not play and Eriksson will take his spot in the lineup. … Green said Sutter is getting closer to playing and could join the Canucks soon. … Backstrom will miss his second game and remains day to day. … Dowd skated before the Capitals practiced Friday, and Reirden said he could return next week. Djoos was recalled from Hershey of the American Hockey League, and defenseman Tyler Lewington was reassigned to Hershey. ... Hathaway will serve the second of a three-game suspension for a spitting incident with Anaheim Ducks defenseman Erik Gudbranson on Monday.
Stat pack
Boeser has four points (two goals, two assists) in a three-game point streak. … Hughes has five assists in his past three games. … Kuznetsov has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in his past nine games.