After some dominant play back on home ice and winning nine of the last 10 games, the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals, are back on the road for one of their toughest matchups yet, as they take on the top team in the West in the Winnipeg Jets in what could be a potential Stanley Cup Final preview.
Here's everything to know before puck drop at 8 p.m. ET at Canada Life Centre.
The Capitals will stick with the same combinations and Jakob Chychrun, who inked an eight-year, $72 million extension on Tuesday, will play after some concerns due to a skate cut on his wrist. Logan Thompson will start.
Here are the lines:
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Aliaksei Protas
Connor McMichael-Pierre-Luc Dubois-Tom Wilson
Andrew Mangiapane-Lars Eller-Taylor Raddysh
Brandon Duhaime-Nic Dowd-Anthony Beauvillier
Rasmus Sandin-John Carlson
Martin Fehervary-Matt Roy
Jakob Chychrun-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren
- Aliaksei Protas is on a four-game point streak and has nine points in his last six games.
- Pierre-Luc Dubois has points in three of his last four games, as do Tom Wilson and Dylan Strome. Strome's 68 points in 70 games lead the Capitals and are a single-season career high.
- Anthony Beauvillier has three points in his last two outings.
- Andrew Mangiapane has goals in back-to-back games.
- Alex Ovechkin will continue his GR8 Chase, as he sits seven goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record. The 39-year-old has 35 goals this season, and he continues to pile on assists in these recent games. He's scored 56 goals in 72 games against Winnipeg (formerly Atlanta) over his 20-year career.
- Look out for Taylor Raddysh, as his third line with Mangiapane and Lars Eller continues to find chemistry.
- Keep an eye on Nic Dowd, who's overdue to get on the scoresheet.
- John Carlson just busted out of a 25-game goalless streak, so look for him to keep trying to find twine.