Columbus Blue Jackets (12-24-2, eighth in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Washington Capitals (22-14-6, fourth in the Metropolitan Division)
Washington; Sunday, 5 p.m. EST
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NHL LINE: Capitals -329, Blue Jackets +261; over/under is 6.5
BOTTOM LINE: The Columbus Blue Jackets visit the Washington Capitals after Kirill Marchenko's hat trick against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Blue Jackets' 4-3 shootout win.
Washington is 22-14-6 overall and 5-2-1 against the Metropolitan Division. The Capitals have an 11-3-4 record in games they score at least one power-play goal.
Columbus is 12-24-2 overall and 4-8-1 against the Metropolitan Division. The Blue Jackets have gone 12-5-1 in games they score at least three goals.
The matchup Sunday is the second time these teams meet this season. The Capitals won 6-2 in the last matchup.
TOP PERFORMERS: Alex Ovechkin has 29 goals and 19 assists for the Capitals. Evgeny Kuznetsov has two goals and 11 assists over the past 10 games.
Jack Roslovic has three goals and 16 assists for the Blue Jackets. Marchenko has seven goals over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Capitals: 7-1-2, averaging 4.4 goals, 7.4 assists, 3.1 penalties and 6.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game.
Blue Jackets: 2-8-0, averaging 1.9 goals, 3.4 assists, 4.2 penalties and 8.7 penalty minutes while giving up 3.2 goals per game.
INJURIES: Capitals: Carl Hagelin: out (hip), John Carlson: out (face), Connor Brown: out (lower body).
Blue Jackets: Jakub Voracek: out (concussion), Zach Werenski: out (shoulder/labrum), Jake Bean: out (shoulder), Nick Blankenburg: out (ankle), Yegor Chinakhov: out (ankle), Justin Danforth: out (shoulder), Boone Jenner: out (thumb), Eric Robinson: day to day (upper-body).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
