Washington (11-6-3) at Minnesota (11-6-1), 8:00 pm EST
ST. PAUL, Minnesota (Ticker) -- The Minnesota Wild look to avoid
a third straight home loss Monday when they face the Washington
Capitals.
Stephane Veilleux scored his second goal of the season and
Niklas Backstrom made 24 saves, but the Wild fizzled in a 2-1
loss to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, falling to 0-2-0 on
their five-game homestand. Minnesota has endured back-to-back
losses at home in regulation for the first time since November
21-23, 2007.
The Wild also have played in four straight one-goal games and
are 2-2-0 in those contests, with both victories coming via
shootout.
Goaltender Niklas Backstrom has started nine straight games and
has yielded two goals or fewer in seven of those contests
Meanwhile, Washington was victimized in a 7-2 loss to the San
Jose Sharks on Saturday. Defenseman Tom Poti and Tomas
Fleischmann scored for the Capitals, who matched the second-best
record through 20 games in franchise history despite having lost
two in a row.
Alex Ovechkin extended his points streak to seven games with an
assist but was not able to lift Washington's offensive unit,
which is hampered by the injuries of Alexander Semin and
blue-liner Mike Green but got back Sergei Fedorov from an ankle
ailment.
Goaltender Brent Johnson surrendered three goals on five shots
in the first period and was tagged four more times despite
making 21 saves.
The Capitals are 7-1-1 when leading after the first period this
year and have scored 14 first-period goals in their last eight
games. They are 7-0-1 when scoring more than one goal in the
first period and 2-3-1 when being held scoreless in the session.