The Washington Capitals (26-23-7) return home for their final game before the Olympic break. They will host the Nashville Predators (28-23-7) at Capital One Arena on Thursday night.
The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. ET.
After Thursday’s game, the NHL will go on a three-week hiatus to accommodate the League’s participation in the 2026 Winter Olympics. The Capitals will return to action on Feb. 25 when they host Philadelphia in the first of a two-game homestand.
The Capitals are back at home after suffering a 4-2 loss to the Flyers in Philadelphia on Tuesday. After trailing 2-0 in the middle frame, Aliaksei Protas scored a shorthanded goal and Anthony Beauvillier tied it up at 2-2.
However, a late penalty proved costly as Justin Sourdif was sent to the box for hooking. This immediately led to Jamie Drysdale scoring a power-play goal to give Philadelphia a 3-2 lead. A late empty-netter from the Flyers sealed it.
Now, the Capitals will look to earn points right before the break in their final meeting with Nashville this season. These two teams previously met on Jan. 11, where the Predators prevailed 3-2 at home.
Nashville got off to a slow start to the season, but have crawled from last place to 10th in the Western Conference. After starting 6-12-4, the Predators have gone an impressive 20-11-3 since.
Nashville will finish off a set of back-to-back games against the Capitals on Thursday. They will be coming off a 6-5 OT home loss to Minnesota on Wednesday.
Expected Capitals Lines
Forwards
Alex Ovechkin – Dylan Strome – Anthony Beauvillier
Aliaksei Protas – Justin Sourdif – Tom Wilson
Ryan Leonard – Nic Dowd – Ethen Frank
Brandon Duhaime – Hendrix Lapierre – Sonny Milano
Defensemen
Martin Fehervary – John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun – Matt Roy
Rasmus Sandin – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Goalies
Garin Bjorklund
Clay Stevenson
Expected Predators Lines
Forwards
Steven Stamkos – Ryan O’Reilly – Luke Evangelista
Filip Forsberg – Erik Haula – Jonathan Marchessault
Cole Smith – Michael McCarron – Michael Bunting
Reid Schaefer – Tyson Jost – Matthew Wood
Defensemen
Brady Skjei – Roman Josi
Adam Wilsby – Nick Perbix
Nick Blankenburg – Justin Barron
Goalies
Justus Annuen
Juuse Saros
How to Watch
TV: Monumental Sports Network
Radio: 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio Network
