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The Washington Capitals return to Capital One Arena on Tuesday night looking to protect a five-game home winning streak and wash away the taste of a messy 6-2 loss to Montreal. While Alex Ovechkin finally snapped his goal drought with a two-goal performance on Saturday, coach Spencer Carbery was quick to point out that “catastrophic mistakes” doomed the effort. The Capitals currently sit at 31-24-7, and while they have played more games than most of their Metropolitan Division rivals, they remain firmly in the hunt for a playoff spot. To stay there, they must fix a power play that has gone 0-for-10 over the last three games and ranks a dismal 31st in the NHL. The Utah Mammoth arrive in

The Buffalo Sabres finally return to KeyBank Center on Tuesday night after nearly a month away, and they couldn’t have asked for a better way to come home. Buffalo effectively barnstormed through a three-game road trip following the Olympic break, sweeping New Jersey, Florida, and Tampa Bay. The Sabres are currently the hottest team in the Eastern Conference, boasting a 24-5-2 record over their last 31 games. Their 6-2 demolition of the Lightning on Saturday proved this team has reached another level, as they chased the league’s top-ranked goaltender by scoring five goals in the first 22 minutes. Vegas enters Buffalo on the opposite end of the momentum spectrum. The Golden Knights have dropped two straight, including a 5-0 shutout

A pivotal week in the Eastern Conference playoff race kicks off at TD Garden on Tuesday night as the Boston Bruins host the Pittsburgh Penguins. This is the first of two meetings between these clubs this week, and the stakes couldn’t be higher with the trade deadline looming. Boston currently holds a slim two-point lead for the final wild-card spot, and while they saw an eight-game point streak snapped in a 3-1 loss to Philadelphia on Saturday, they remain a formidable out at home. David Pastrnak continues to carry the offensive load, entering the contest as the NHL’s seventh-leading scorer. The Pittsburgh Penguins arrive in Boston as one of the hottest teams in hockey, despite the massive void left by

The Winnipeg Jets return to the Canada Life Centre on Tuesday night to kick off a critical eight-game homestand, desperately seeking a win in regulation. Since the NHL resumed following the Olympic break, Winnipeg has been stuck in a cycle of extra time, playing three consecutive overtime games and coming up short in two of them. Currently sitting nine points out of a wild-card spot with a 23-27-10 record, the Jets are running out of runway to save their season. After a frustrating 2-1 overtime loss in San Jose on Sunday, coach Scott Arniel made it clear that “cheating” for offense and giving up odd-man rushes is costing this team vital points in the standings. The Chicago Blackhawks arrive in