Arena: Scottrade Center
Time: 13 Feb 2010 at 8:00 PM ET
League: NHL – United States of America

Last 10 matches: Washington 8-1-1; St. Louis 5-4-1
Picking up two points before the Olympic break is far more imperative for St. Louis at this point, but Washington probably feels as though it has some things to iron out after its 14-game winning streak came to an end. The Capitals have lost consecutive games, both by 6-5 finals, and have yielded 23 goals in their last five games.

“I think we’re trying to do too much with the puck instead of trying to put it up the boards,” defenseman Jeff Schultz said. “It seems like were trying to force it up the middle. Teams take it away and we’re still trying to do it. In our zone we’re watching instead of moving and closing in on the [opposing] players. It’s giving them time and space. We get running around and that’s when you get in trouble.” This is the only meeting of the 2009-10 season between these teams. Semyon Varlamov picked up his second NHL win with a 29-save performance as the Capitals took the most recent matchup, 4-2, on Dec. 18, 2008 at the Verizon Center.
Capitals defenseman Shaone Morrisonn has been battling flu-like symptoms but is likely to play Saturday. Forward Jason Chimera and defenseman Tom Poti are out with groin injuries. … Blues forward Keith Tkachuk missed Friday’s game and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
How rare is it for a team to drop a game when one of its players records a hat trick? Not counting the two recent Washington losses, teams are 49-1-0 this season under such an occurrence. Highlights and results will be available soon..