Capitals at Stars preview

CAPITALS (2-1-2) at STARS (1-3-1)
8 p.m. ET; FS-SW, NBCSWA, NHL.TV

The Stars are 13-0-4 in their past 17 home games against the Capitals, a streak that began on Oct. 8, 1996.
Washington looks to avoid its fourth straight loss (0-1-2) after opening the season with two victories.
The teams will complete their season series; Dallas won 4-3 in overtime at Capital One Arena on Tuesday.

Players to watch

Capitals defenseman John Carlson has five points (one goal, four assists) in his past two games, including a goal and an assist against Dallas on Tuesday.
Stars center Roope Hintz has four points (three goals, one assist) in a three-game point streak.

They said it

"We started out really well in that game, but they didn't quit. If we have them in a position like that, just don't give them any momentum because they have a lot of firepower that can change the course of a game quickly. It will be our job to take that away." -- Capitals defenseman John Carlson on the loss to Dallas on Tuesday
"I think teams are evolving. What we saw from Washington two games ago, I'm sure they're a much-improved team. As your team gets used to the rhythm of the League again and the schedule, you become a better team. I think we're a different team than when we played them, even though it was two games ago." -- Stars coach Jim Montgomery

Capitals projected lineup

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

Stars projected lineup

Jamie Benn -- Tyler Seguin -- Alexander Radulov
Mattias Janmark -- Roope Hintz -- Joe Pavelski
Jason Dickinson -- Radek Faksa -- Joel L'Esperance
Andrew Cogliano -- Rhett Gardner -- Nick Caamano
Esa Lindell -- John Klingberg
Miro Heiskanen -- Andrej Sekera
Jamie Oleksiak -- Joel Hanley
Anton Khudobin
Ben Bishop
Scratched:Justin Dowling, Taylor Fedun
Injured: Corey Perry (foot), Blake Comeau (lower body), Roman Polak (upper body), Martin Hanzal (back), Stephen Johns (post-traumatic headaches)

Status report

Dowd will play in place of Stephenson, who is a healthy scratch. … Dickinson will return to the lineup after missing four games with an upper-body injury. … Montgomery said he is hopeful Perry will make his Stars debut at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday.

Stat pack

Washington has allowed eight third-period goals, including two against Dallas on Tuesday. … Backstrom has 18 points (five goals, 13 points) in 17 games against the Stars. … Benn has 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 15 games against the Capitals. … Pavelski has 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) against Washington. … The Stars have not lost a home game in regulation against the Capitals since Oct. 17, 1995.