WASHINGTON - The Columbus Blue Jackets will look to tie the NHL record for consecutive wins when they face Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Thursday night at Verizon Center.
Columbus goes for its 17th straight win in a game featuring the first- and fourth-place teams in the Metropolitan Division. In a bit of scheduling irony, Washington will be trying to stop Columbus from tying the mark set by the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins - the Capitals' bitter rivals.
The Blue Jackets (27-5-4) rattled off their 16th consecutive victory with a 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday in Columbus.
"I'm proud of the team. They deserve it," Columbus coach John Tortorella told NHL.com. "I'm really happy how they've handled the past three games with all the talk and all that. It's a good test for them."
Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves and extended his win streak to 14 games, three behind the record set by Boston's Gillies Gilbert in 1975-76. He has allowed just 23 goals in the 14 games.
Columbus is allowing two goals per game, tops in the NHL, and Washington is third at 2.10.
The Blue Jackets' power play continues to thrive, producing the first goal Tuesday night and 13 in the last 11 games. They're converting a league-best 28.3 percent of their chances.
"The power play, you can almost sense it when they go out there that they are going to score," Tortorella told NHL.com. "The bench feels that."
Capitals coach Barry Trotz said, "They have a good plan and they're executing their plan. I think their ability not only to get pucks in the area, but they also find ... off the original chance they turn that into a second and third chance and eventually a goal."
The Caps (23-9-5), meanwhile, has provided opponents 20 power plays in its last three games, though they've surrendered only two power-play goals while winning three straight.
"Obviously, the penalties are mounting up and they're hard minutes," Trotz said. "We're going to correct that."
Tuesday's 5-4 overtime win over the Toronto Maple Leafs was an uncharacteristic Capitals affair. They were forced to rally from a 4-2 deficit before Ovechkin scored the winner.
Goalie Braden Holtby was pulled after allowing three first-period goals when the Capitals had allowed only 14 first-period scores all season.
"Certainly, I think we just kind of willed out way to that win," Justin Williams told The Washington Post after he notched a goal and two assists to give him eight goals and seven assists in his last 14 games. "It was fun and exciting for everybody."
Thursday's atmosphere should be exciting as well.
"Guys recognize that you're under a bigger spotlight, so it's probably like a rivalry game," Trotz said. "It's got a little more ... I'll say a little more zip to it, a little more emotion than some other games."
Columbus won the first two matchups between the teams - one in overtime - and leads Washington by seven points in the Metropolitan Division.
"Everyone in the division, everyone's winning," Blue Jackets winger Cam Atkinson said. "It's going to be a huge game. It's obviously fun to play those game because you know you're going to their A effort on the other side and we're going to bring it as well, so looking forward to it."
Atkinson has three goals in his last two games. Nick Foligno has three goals and five assists in his last five, and Brandon Saad and Alexander Wennberg have two goals and four assists each in the last five.
Against the Capitals, Atkinson has eight goals and five assists in 13 games, Saad has five and three in eight games, and Foligno has seven and 13 in 28 games.
Tortorella has his own long history against Washington. As the coach of the New York Rangers, his teams were eliminated twice in the playoffs by Washington and twice sent the Capitals packing. He was suspended for one game after an altercation with a fan in the 2009 playoffs.
Ovechkin has four goals and two assists in his last six games and is five points from 1,000. In 17 games against Columbus, he has 14 goals and three assists. Williams has nine and 11 in 32 games, and T.J. Oshie has eight and 13 in 30.
Holtby is 8-3-2 with a 2.83 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage against Columbus, and Bobrovsky is 6-5-3 with a 2.64 GAA and a .908 save percentage against Washington.
The Capitals will be looking to deal the Blue Jackets their first loss since Nov. 26 - the day before Thanksgiving - when they fell to the Florida Panthers 3-2 in overtime.
"They recognize Columbus is obviously the class of the league right now and they're coming into our building," Trotz said of his players, "and we'll give them a good match."
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