Nashville @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 10, 2019 ) Washington 5, Nashville 6

The All-Star break did little to alleviate the struggles of the Nashville Predators, who face the daunting task of attempting to snap out of their funk against the league's top team. Superstar captain Alex Ovechkin will return from a one-game suspension when the Capitals go for their fifth straight win Wednesday night against the visiting Predators.

Despite Ovechkin sitting out as punishment for his decision to skip the All-Star Game over the weekend, Washington won for the seventh time in nine games with a 4-2 victory at Montreal on Monday. “First game back, Ovechkin out and on the road, it is not the easiest task,” center Lars Eller said after the Capitals scored at least four goals for the sixth time during the 7-2-0 stretch. “But we found a way to win today, and that is, I think, all we could ask for.” While Nashville scored four third-period goals in a 6-5 home win over Washington on Oct. 10, it lost for the eighth time in 12 games (4-7-1) since the Christmas break after dropping a 5-2 decision to visiting Toronto on Monday. "There's different things that present teams positively and negatively every year; and right now, our biggest task ... is finding a way where we can put multiple games together, put full games together," coach John Hynes said.

TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: NBC Sports Network

ABOUT THE PREDATORS (22-19-7): Nashville is buried in the basement of the Central after winning the division last season and now hits a rugged stretch where it must play six of its next seven games away from home. Captain Roman Josi is the leading scorer by far for the Predators, who have produced only nine goals over the past five games and received only a pair of tallies over the last dozen contests from Filip Forsberg. However, Forsberg has lit up the Capitals -- his former team -- with seven goals and 13 points in 10 matchups.

ABOUT THE CAPITALS (34-11-5): Ovechkin was on a white-hot binge before the All-Star break, notching back-to-back hat tricks and scoring eight times in three games to boost his career total to 692 goals -- tied with Steve Yzerman for No. 9 all-time. Ovechkin scored twice versus Nashville in October and has 12 goals in 20 career meetings. Jakub Vrana has been on a tear of his own with eight goals during a nine-game point streak, including tallies in three straight contests to move within one of last season's career high of 24.

OVERTIME

1. Capitals G Braden Holtby takes a 3-4-1 record and 4.19 goals-against average versus Nashville into Wednesday's game.

2. The Predators are 1-for-11 on the power play in the last six games.

3. Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom has points in 11 of his last 12 overall and 20 in 20 games versus Nashville.

PREDICTION: Capitals 4, Predators 2