The Ottawa Senators played the Washington Capitals close on Thursday night. However, the Senators fell to the Capitals in overtime thanks to an Alex Ovechkin overtime goal. The game was more notable for Ottawa than the opponent or result,

Opening faceoff is at 7 p.m. ET and you can watch it on ESPN+ ( plans start at $11.99/month). Washington (29-10-5, in the Metropolitan Division) last played on Tuesday night and beat visiting Anaheim 3-0 as Logan Thompson stopped all 19 shots. The Capitals are 6-1-3 in their last 10 games.

The Ottawa Senators came close as a strong team effort saw them hold the Washington Capitals scoreless through three periods but were unable to secure the win as they fell by a score of 1-0 in overtime.

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If the Washington Capitals didn't have enough incentive to try to keep defenseman Jakob Chychrun around past the end of this season, he gave them reason No. 13 on Saturday night. The 26-year-old, who was traded to the nation's capital from the Ottawa Senators during the offseason,

The Senators have started climbing up the Eastern Conference standings again with three straight victories ahead of Thursday's encounter with the Washington Capitals. As much as Travis Green's team would love to win its fourth outing in a row, victory will be easier said than done if Thomas Chabot isn't in the lineup.

Both the Senators and the Capitals have been stingy on defense across the last month-plus, and our NHL betting picks see no signs of regression in that department for either side on Thursday night.

Chychrun returned to Ottawa this week as the top-scoring defenceman on the top team in the NHL and reflected on his time with the Senators.

The Penguins and Capitals renewed arguably the highest-profile rivalry of the salary-cap era on Saturday night.

It's not too early to think about playoff implications for the Bruins, who have an important game coming on Saturday.

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