Capitals at Lightning preview

CAPITALS (23-5-5) at LIGHTNING (16-11-3)
7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SUN, NBCSWA, NHL.TV

The Lightning have won three out of four (3-1-0), including a 3-2 win against the Boston Bruins on Thursday.
Washington is 7-1-0 in its past eight games and has outscored its opponents 29-20 during that stretch.

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Players to Watch

Capital defenseman John Carlson has nine points (four goals, five assists) in the past six games.
Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman has eight points (three goals, five assists) in the past eight games.

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They said it

"You prepare differently for every opponent and [the Lightning] are no different. It's just that they have guys in certain sports that are among the League's best. -- Capitals coach Todd Reirden
"I think [the Capitals] have a lot of depth in their lineup. Top to bottom forward-wise they have guys who can hurt you. They have a really strong work ethic, especially in their bottom two lines. They provide a lot of energy. We have to be ready for that." -- Lightning defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk

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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
Michal Kempny -- John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov -- Nick Jensen
Jonas Siegenthaler -- Radko Gudas
Ilya Samsonov
Braden Holtby
Injured: None
Scratched:Travis Boyd

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Lightning projected lineup

Ondrej Palat -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn -- Anthony Cirelli -- Steven Stamkos
Pat Maroon -- Cedric Paquette -- Yanni Gourde
Carter Verhaeghe -- Mitchell Stephens -- Mathieu Joseph
Victor Hedman -- Jan Rutta
Ryan McDonagh -- Erik Cernak
Mikhail Sergachev -- Kevin Shattenkirk
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Curtis McElhinney
Injured: Tyler Johnson (lower body), Braydon Coburn (lower body)
Scratched:Luke Schenn

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Status report

Coburn took part in the morning skate but isn't expected to return to the lineup until after the Christmas break.

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Stat pack

Ovechkin needs one power-play goal to pass Teemu Selanne (255) for sole possession of third place on NHL all-time list. … Oshie has nine points (three goals, six assists) in the past six games. … Stamkos has six goals in the past four games. … Killorn has eight points (four goals, four assists) in the past six games.