Capitals at Flames preview

CAPITALS (4-3-2) at FLAMES (5-5-0)
4 p.m. ET; SN1, SNE, SNO, SNP, NBCSWA, NHL.TV

Copley has appeared in two games this season (one start) and does not have a win in four NHL games.
The Capitals are 2-3-1 in the past six games, and have been outscored by opponents 24-17 during that stretch.
The Flames are 1-3-0 and have been outscored 18-10 in the past four games, including a 9-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.

Players to watch

Washington forward Alex Ovechkin has eight points (four goals, four assists) in his past five games, and needs one power-play goal to tie Marcel Dionne (234) for eighth place on the NHL all-time list.

Calgary forward Johnny Gaudreau has five points (four goals, one assist) in his past six games and needs two assists for 200 in the NHL.

They said it

"The biggest thing is every game is a big game. If you want to be in the playoffs you have to try to win as many games as you can. We have to manage our emotions and manage our game." -- Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin
"The great thing about our sport is you get another chance to redeem yourself. Tomorrow is a great opportunity, to play against the Stanley Cup champs."-- Flames goaltender Mike Smith
Video: BOS@CGY: Smith shuts down Bergeron's tip-in try

Capitals projected lineup

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

Flames projected lineup

Johnny Gaudreau -- Sean Monahan -- Sam Bennett
Matthew Tkachuk -- Mikael Backlund -- Austin Czarnik
Dillon Dube -- Elias Lindholm -- James Neal
Michael Frolik -- Derek Ryan -- Garnet Hathaway
Mark Giordano -- TJ Brodie
Noah Hanifin -- Travis Hamonic
Juuso Valimaki -- Rasmus Andersson
Mike Smith
David Rittich
Scratched:Mark Jankowski, Michael Stone, Dalton Prout
Injured: None

Status report

Although Capitals coach Todd Reirden didn't name a starter, Holtby was on the ice with the healthy scratches after practice, an indication that Copley could start. ... Vrana is expected to skate on the top line with Ovechkin and Kuznetsov. … Smith, who allowed six goals on 21 shots before being pulled in the second period on Thursday, will start for the second straight game. … Ryan will play after being a healthy scratch Thursday.

Stat pack

Backstrom has seven points (one goal, six assists) in his past five games, and points in seven of nine games this season. …Carlson has eight points (three goals, five assists) in a four-game point streak. …Kuznetsov has six points (two goals, four assists) in his past five games. …Tkachuk has five points in his past five games (two goals, three assists). …Neal needs two points for 500 in the NHL.