Washington Capitals (36-15-5, second in the East Division) vs. Boston Bruins (33-16-7, third in the East Division)
Boston; Friday, 6:30 p.m. EDT
LINE: Bruins -180, Capitals +149; over/under is 5.5
BOTTOM LINE: Brad Marchand leads Boston into a matchup with Washington. He's third in the league with 69 points, scoring 29 goals and recording 40 assists.
The Bruins are 33-16-7 in division matchups. Boston ranks 26th in the NHL with 33.3 shots per game and is averaging 2.9 goals.
The Capitals are 36-15-5 against the rest of their division. Washington has scored 188 goals and is fifth in the league averaging 3.4 goals per game. Alex Ovechkin leads the team with 24.
The teams meet for the second game in a row.
TOP PERFORMERS: Marchand leads the Bruins with 40 assists and has 69 points this season. David Krejci has 12 assists over the last 10 games for Boston.
Nicklas Backstrom leads the Capitals with 53 points, scoring 15 goals and registering 38 assists. T.J. Oshie has six goals over the last 10 games for Washington.
LAST 10 GAMES: Bruins: 6-3-1, averaging 3.2 goals, 5.4 assists, 2.4 penalties and 6.2 penalty minutes while giving up 1.9 goals per game with a .919 save percentage.
Capitals: 7-2-1, averaging 2.7 goals, 4.4 assists, 4.3 penalties and 14.2 penalty minutes while allowing 2.1 goals per game with a .919 save percentage.
INJURIES: Bruins: Ondrej Kase: day to day (upper body), Jeremy Lauzon: day to day (hand).
Capitals: Michal Kempny: out (lower body).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by
