Music: {allcanada} OILERS (11-26-9) at CAPITALS (24-13-8)

Monday, January 19, 2015

{allcanada} OILERS (11-26-9) at CAPITALS (24-13-8)

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

7:00 PM ET

OILERS (11-26-9) at CAPITALS (24-13-8)

TV: SNW, CSN-DC

Season series: Nikita Nikitin scored late in the second period on the power play to help the Oilers defeat the Capitals 3-2 at Rexall Place on Oct. 22. Capitals defensemen Mike Green and John Carlson scored and goalie Braden Holtby made 17 saves.

Oilers team scope: The Oilers will look to win two games in a row for the first time since Nov. 7-9. Edmonton is 5-18-8 since then, and 5-13-4 against teams in the top 18 of the NHL standings. The Oilers have lost nine straight against other teams in the bottom 12 (0-5-4). This is a homecoming of sorts for Boyd Gordon, who was selected in the first round by the Capitals in the 2002 NHL Draft, and spent his first seven NHL seasons in Washington. New Oilers coach Todd Nelson also played for Washington coach Barry Trotz when they were both with the Nashville Predators.

Capitals team scope: Washington lost back-to-back games for the first time since Nov. 29-Dec. 2 with losses at Nashville and Dallas this past weekend. The Capitals blew a 3-2 lead late in the third period of a 4-3 loss to the Predators on Friday. Washington gave up goals 19 seconds apart after it was a 3-3 game in the third against the Stars in a 5-4 loss Saturday. Despite the losses, the Capitals are 14-3-4 since a loss Dec. 2 to the Vancouver Canucks. Holtby will be starting for the first time when he didn't start the game before since Nov. 15, after his span of 20 straight starts was snapped Saturday by Justin Peters. Alex Ovechkin scored three times over the weekend, and he is fourth in the League with 25 goals, three behind co-leaders Tyler Seguin and Rick Nash. Ovechkin has led the NHL in goals four times. He could become the seventh player in League history to do five times.

Team Stats