Capitals at Blackhawks preview

CAPITALS (5-2-2) at BLACKHAWKS (2-2-1)
7 p.m. ET; NHLN, NBCSCH, NBCSWA, NHL.TV

Chicago recalled the 18-year-old forward from his conditioning assignment with Rockford of the American Hockey League on Friday. He played three games in the AHL and did not have a point after being activated from concussion protocol Oct. 12.
Washington defenseman John Carlson is tied for the NHL lead in points with 17 (three goals, 14 assists) in nine games. Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid has 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in eight games. Carlson has 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) during a six-game point streak and could become the first Capitals defenseman to have at least three points in three consecutive games.
Washington is 3-1-0 in its past four games.
Chicago has won two straight after going 0-2-1 to start the season.

Players to watch

Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has eight points (four goals, four assists) during a six-game point streak.
Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews has two points (one goal, one assist) in his past two games, including the game-winning goal in a 3-2 overtime victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.

They said it

"[The Blackhawks] are always tough in [the United Center] -- it's an intimidating tough building for a lot of young players. I expect it to be a fun environment" -- Capitals coach Todd Reirden
"It's pretty exciting. Kind of grew up my whole life wanting to do this, so for me to get this opportunity now -- it's awesome. Kind of speechless and at a loss for words. I've just got to go out there and play my game and focus on all the little things that the coaching staff wants me to do." -- Blackhawks forward Kirby Dach

Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin -- Nicklas Backstrom -- T.J. Oshie
Carl Hagelin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana -- Lars Eller -- Garnet Hathaway
Brendan Leipsic -- Nic Dowd -- Chandler Stephenson
Jonas Siegenthaler -- John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov -- Nick Jensen
Michal Kempny -- Radko Gudas
Braden Holtby
Ilya Samsonov
Scratched: Tyler Lewington, Travis Boyd
Injured: Richard Panik (upper body)

Blackhawks projected lineup

Alex DeBrincat -- Jonathan Toews -- Kirby Dach
Andrew Shaw -- Dylan Strome -- Patrick Kane
Brandon Saad -- David Kampf -- Dominik Kubalik
Zack Smith -- Ryan Carpenter -- Drake Caggiula
Duncan Keith -- Connor Murphy
Olli Maatta -- Brent Seabrook
Calvin de Haan -- Erik Gustafsson
Corey Crawford
Robin Lehner
Scratched: Brendan Perlini, Slater Koekkoek, Alex Nylander
Injured: None.

Status report

The Capitals re-assigned defenseman Martin Fehervary to Hershey of the American Hockey League on Saturday.

Stat pack

Carlson is the first Capitals defenseman to have at least 15 points in October. He could become the first NHL defenseman to have seven multiple-point games in his first 10 games of a season. … Oshie has four points (three goals, one assist) in a three-game point streak. … Kane has seven points (two goals, five assists) in five games.