This matchup is a tale of two teams headed in opposite directions, as the Capitals are riding a 10-game win streak and the Bruins stumble in on a seven-game skid. Boston's last win came against the Western Conference-leading San Jose Sharks on Jan. 14.
WHEN AND WHERE
Tuesday, Feb. 2, 7 p.m. (NESN)
TD Garden, Boston, Mass.
RECORDS
Bruins (23-21-9, 54 points, fourth place in Northeast Division, 11th place in Eastern Conference)
Capitals (37-12-6, 80 points, first place in Southeast Division, first place in Eastern Conference)
HEAD TO HEAD
This is the second of four meetings between the two clubs. The Capitals lead the season series 1-0 after beating the Bruins 4-1 at the TD Garden in the season opener for both teams on Oct. 1.
The two teams will meet again on April 5 and on April 11 at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C.
The Bruins lead the all-time series 68-35-21-4.
SKINNY
The Bruins have not won a home game since the Winter Classic on New Year’s Day, when they beat the Flyers 2-1 in overtime. They are 0-5-1 during this streak of futility on their home ice and have not won a game at the TD Garden since Dec. 30, when they shut out Atlanta 4-0.
The Capitals’ 10-game winning streak is the team's longest since January-February of 1984, when the Caps went 16-1-1.
Capitals defenseman Mike Green will miss Tuesday’s game as part of a three-game suspension for elbowing Panthers forward Michael Frolik.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
Bruins
Forwards
Milan Lucic–Marc Savard–Miroslav Satan
Marco Sturm–Patrice Bergeron–Mark Recchi
Blake Wheeler–David Krejci–Michael Ryder
Daniel Paille–Steve Begin–Byron Bitz
Defensemen
Zdeno Chara–Derek Morris
Matt Hunwick–Dennis Wideman
Johnny Boychuk–Adam McQuaid
Goaltenders
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask
Capitals
Forwards
Alex Ovechkin–Nicklas Backstrom–Mike Knuble
Brooks Laich–Tomas Fleischmann–Alexander Semin
Jason Chimera–Brendan Morrison–Eric Fehr
Boyd Gordon–David Steckel–Matt Bradley
Defenseman
Brian Pothier–Tyler Sloan
Tom Poti–John Erskine
Jeff Schultz–Shaone Morrisonn
Goaltenders
Jose Theodore
Braden Holtby
GOALTENDER MATCHUP
Bruins
Tim Thomas is 13-14-7 with a 2.50 GAA and a .916 save percentage and four shutouts. Thomas has not won since Jan. 14 and is 0-3-2 in his last five games.
Tuukka Rask is 10-7-2 with a 2.13 GAA and a .925 save percentage. He is third in the NHL in GAA and has two shutouts.
Capitals
Jose Theodore has won his last seven starts and is 17-7-4 with a 2.82 GAA and a .902 save percentage. The former Montreal Canadien, who won the Hart and Vezina Trophies in 2002, had 25 saves in the Caps’ 3-2 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday.
Braden Holtby was recently called up and has yet to play in an NHL game.
STAT SHEET
Bruins
Patrice Bergeron leads the team in points (12 goals, 21 assists) with 33.
Marc Savard notched his second assist in as many games on Saturday, giving him two points in his first two games back from a partially-torn MCL. He now has 15 helpers and 24 points this season.
Marco Sturm scored a goal in his first game back from a leg injury on Saturday and leads the team with 16. Sturm, who hadn’t played since Jan. 14, has 25 points.
David Krejci had an assist on Saturday and now has 19 helpers and 28 points.
Mark Recchi scored his 10th goal of the season on Saturday and now has 28 points this season. The veteran forward turned 42 on Monday.
Zdeno Chara leads the team in assists with 25. Chara also leads the defense in points with 29.
The Bruins are the lowest-scoring team in the NHL, averaging 2.34 goals per game. They have scored 124 goals this season.
The Bruins killed off two of four Kings power plays on Saturday and have now allowed a power-play goal in three straight games for the first time since a five-game streak to open the season. The Bruins have allowed 26 goals on 191 power plays, and their penalty kill is ranked third in the NHL with an 86.4 percent success rate.
The Bruins were 2-for-7 on the power play on Saturday and are 3-for-24 in their last 10 games. They are 31-for-175 overall with a 17.7 percent success rate
Capitals
Alexander Ovechkin scored the game-winning goal in Sunday’s 3-2 win over the Lightning and is currently riding a three-game point streak, with six points during that span. Ovechkin is second in the NHL in goals (35) and points with 76. He is also first in plus/minus with a plus-35 rating.
Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and an assist on Sunday and is on a four-game point streak, with seven points during that span. Backstrom is second on the Caps in assists with 40 and in points with 63.
Alexander Semin had an assist on Sunday and has a nine-game point streak going, with 16 points during that span. Semin is second on the team in goals with 25 and third in points with 55.
Tomas Fleischmann had two helpers on Sunday and has seven assists in his last six games. Fleischmann has 22 assists and 39 points this season.
The Capitals are the highest-scoring team in the NHL, averaging 3.82 goals per game and 210 goals this season.
The Capitals were 1-for-3 on the power play in their win on Sunday and are 55-for-209 overall with a 26.3 percent success rate. They have the best power play in the NHL.
The Capitals allowed one power-play goal on one opportunity by Tampa Bay on Sunday. They have killed off 42 of 215 power plays with an 80.5 percent success rate.
BLACK AND BLUE
Bruins
Andrew Ference practiced with the team for the first time since injuring his groin on Jan. 5, but he is still expected to be out until after the Olympics.
Defenseman Mark Stuart had successful surgery on a broken finger and he will be out until after the Olympics.
Capitals
Goalie Semyon Varlamov (lower-body) is getting closer to a return after being out for almost two months. He is day-to-day.
THIS DAY IN BRUINS HISTORY
On Feb. 2, 1975, Bobby Orr had a goal and four assists in a 5-1 win over the Flyers.
OVERHEARD
"We haven't changed our system at all this year, except to try and improve with our forecheck a little bit more. Last year, we were second in the league in scoring. This year, we're not. It's not because we said, 'Hey, we scored too much last year, let's pull back here.' We're trying to do the same thing. Our D's are supposed to support the attack, which they do on a lot of occasions. Our finish just isn't there."
–Bruins head coach Claude Julien
PRESS BOX
Bruins
Just when they seemed like they were getting healthy, the Bruins suffered another key injury, as Mark Stuart will be out until after the Olympic break with a broken finger.
Are the Bruins interested in Blues winger Keith Tkachuk?
Here are some viable trade targets for the Bruins.
Capitals
Here’s what was happening the last time the Capitals won 10 straight games.
Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau wants his players to enjoy this win streak.
After totaling 9 goals, 26 points and a plus-16 rating in 15 games, Alexander Ovechkin was named the NHL Player of the Month for January.
NHL
Team USA has a banged-up blue line.
Is Gary Bettman to blame for the ownership problems in Tampa Bay?
The Flames pulled off another major trade Monday night.
OUTLOOK
The Bruins will be trying to snap their seven-game losing streak against the best team in the Eastern Conference, the highest scoring team in the league and the best power play in the NHL.
Considering what they’re up against, the last thing the Bruins need to do is press too hard or force a play when it isn’t there — a common mistake for a team struggling to score and win. The Bruins need to simplify, as they have been doing recently, and just stay within their game plan. Because the Capitals have so many weapons, they can easily dictate play and cause teams to pay too much attention to a star like Alexander Ovechkin and leave other players open. The Bruins just need to stay within themselves and not let Ovechkin or the other offensive weapons distract them.
