St. Louis Blues (29-32-5, sixth in the Central Division) vs. Washington Capitals (33-29-7, sixth in the Metropolitan Division)
Washington; Friday, 7 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The St. Louis Blues visit the Washington Capitals after Pavel Buchnevich recorded a hat trick in the Blues' 8-5 loss to the Minnesota Wild.
Washington has a 33-29-7 record overall and a 16-13-4 record on its home ice. The Capitals have a +eight scoring differential, with 214 total goals scored and 206 conceded.
St. Louis has gone 15-17-1 on the road and 29-32-5 overall. The Blues have a 26-9-2 record when scoring at least three goals.
Friday's game is the second meeting between these teams this season. The Blues won 5-4 in a shootout in the previous meeting. Buchnevich led the Blues with three goals.
TOP PERFORMERS: T.J. Oshie has scored 18 goals with 15 assists for the Capitals. Alexander Ovechkin has five goals and five assists over the past 10 games.
Robert Thomas has 16 goals and 42 assists for the Blues. Buchnevich has scored seven goals and added 11 assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Capitals: 5-4-1, averaging 3.9 goals, 6.9 assists, 4.1 penalties and 9.9 penalty minutes while giving up 3.2 goals per game.
Blues: 3-5-2, averaging 3.4 goals, six assists, three penalties and 7.4 penalty minutes while giving up 3.8 goals per game.
INJURIES: Capitals: Carl Hagelin: out (hip), John Carlson: out (face), Connor Brown: out (lower body), Sonny Milano: day to day (illness).
Blues: Jake Neighbours: out (upper-body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
