Capitals at Sharks preview

CAPITALS (31-19-7) at SHARKS (34-16-7)
10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, NBCSWA, NHL.TV

Karlsson, who hasn't played since Jan. 16 because of a groin injury, practiced Wednesday and is getting close to returning to the lineup.
The Sharks, who are going for their second seven-game winning streak this season (Jan. 2-15), are tied with the Calgary Flames for first in the Pacific Division and with the Winnipeg Jets for first in the Western Conference. Their six-game winning streak began with a 7-6 overtime win in Washington on Jan. 22.
The Capitals began a five-game road trip with a 3-0 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday after going 4-1-1 on a six-game homestand. They are in second place in the Metropolitan Division with 69 points, three behind the New York Islanders and two ahead of the Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Players to watch

Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in his past eight games and leads the NHL with 38 goals.
Sharks forward Tomas Hertl has seven points (four goals, three assists) in a three-game multipoint streak.

They said it

"They're so dangerous on the rush, as we saw in our last game against them. If we want to give up odd-man rushes and go chance-for-chance against this team, then we're in trouble all evening, especially in this building." -- Capitals coach Todd Reirden
"It was a weird game [against Washington] because we were going into our break right after. But we found a way to win, even though we gave them way too many opportunities. I think we've tightened it up since then, and we're going to need to play that way tonight." -- Sharks forward Logan Couture

Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana -- Nicklas Backstrom - T.J. Oshie
Andre Burakovsky -- Lars Eller -- Brett Connolly
Dmitrij Jaskin -- Chandler Stephenson -- Devante Smith-Pelly
Michal Kempny -- John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov -- Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik -- Christian Djoos
Braden Holtby
Pheonix Copley
Scratched: Madison Bowey, Travis Boyd, Nic Dowd
Injured:None

Sharks projected lineup

Timo Meier -- Logan Couture -- Joe Pavelski
Evander Kane -- Tomas Hertl -- Joonas Donskoi
Marcus Sorensen -- Joe Thornton -- Kevin Labanc
Lukas Radil -- Barclay Goodrow -- Melker Karlsson
Radim Simek -- Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Tim Heed
Brenden Dillon -- Justin Braun
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched: Joakim Ryan, Dylan Gambrell](https://www.nhl.com/player/dylan-gambrell-8479580)
Injured:Erik Karlsson (groin)

Status report

Jaskin will replace Dowd after being scratched the previous two games.

Stat pack

Oshie has 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) in his past 10 games. … Thornton needs one point to pass Teemu Selanne for 15th in NHL history. Each has 1,457. … Pavelski has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in his past seven games.