Tonight at 8 p.m. ET, the Boston Bruins (41-25-13, 95 points) and Washington Capitals (44-25-11, 99 points) take the ice for the third and final meeting against each other in the regular season live from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
Boston has won five straight games heading into tonight's meeting and kicks off a season-ending three-match road trip while Washington has won four of its last five contests and closes out the campaign with a two-game home stand.
The Capitals have clinched a playoff spot and currently reside in second place in the Metropolitan Division with a one-point lead over the New York Islanders (98 points).
The Bruins are clinging to the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, but have the same amount of points as the Ottawa Senators (95) with one game in hand while trailing the Detroit Red Wings (97) by two points for third in the Atlantic Division.
Washington has gotten the best of the season series by keeping Boston off the scoresheet in both meetings, notching a 4-0 win on Oct. 11 and 2-0 triumph on March 15.
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The Bruins are coming in off of a 2-1 shootout victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday that saw Patrice Bergeron notch a goal in regulation and the shootout-winner. Boston will look for its sixth consecutive victory.
Bergeron paces Boston with 54 points off of 22 goals and 32 assists this season while Loui Eriksson has 21 markers and 24 helpers to rank second on the team with 45 points.
The Bruins banged up blue line may get defenseman Zdeno Chara (lower-body) back and the team is excited to be in a playoff race.
"It's an exciting time. Stress ages you, excitement makes you feel young," forward Chris Kelly said per the team's website.
The Capitals enter play on the heels of a 2-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday that saw defenseman Mike Green notch a goal and an assist.
Alex Ovechkin leads the NHL with 52 tallies and is tied for third in the league with 83 points while Nicklas Backstrom is second in the NHL with 57 assists and second on Washington with 75 points.
In a tight race with the Islanders for second place in the division, the Capitals are excited to try and gain home-ice for their Round 1 series.
We need to continue to get momentum, try to wrap up the second spot in our division and get home ice," forward Troy Brouwer told the team website.
In between the pipes, Braden Holtby is expected to make his NHL-leading 71st start of the season for Washington and he is 40-19-10 overall with a 2.24 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage.
Boston is expected to counter with Tuukka Rask in the crease and he is 34-19-12 with a 2.27 GAA and a .924 save percentage.
Two big points hang in the balance when the lights come up on the Bruins and Capitals live from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C
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