Weekly Snapshot, Jan. 23

A weekly peek at the state of the Washington Capitals.

Record/Standings Position: 27-14-8 (62 points), 2nd Southeast Division/5th Eastern Conference/7th NHL

Last Week's Games:
* Lost, 3-2 (OT), at Philadelphia Flyers
* Won, 2-1, at New York Islanders
* Won, 4-1, at Toronto Maple Leafs

This Week's Games:
* Monday vs. New York Rangers (7:30 p.m., Versus-HD)
* Wednesday at Atlanta Thrashers (7 p.m., CSN-HD)

Injuries: Matt Bradley (1-2 weeks), Alexander Semin (day-to-day), Tom Poti (day-to-day), Eric Fehr (out 3-4 weeks), Tyler Sloan (day-to-day), Michal Neuvirth (day-to-day). Total Man Games Lost: 127.

Recent Transactions: Assigned Brian Fahey to Hershey (Jan. 21); recalled Fahey from Hershey (Jan. 20); recalled Braden Holtby from Hershey (Jan. 19); assigned Andrew Gordon to Hershey, recalled Sloan from his conditioning stint in Hershey (Jan. 18).

Top Storylines:
* Alex Ovechkin registered his first hat trick of the season in yesterday's win.
* Mike Green will serve as an alternate captain in this weekend's all-star game.
* Another money quote from Bruce Boudreau: "It might not be the most exciting brand of hockey in the world but everybody seems to like winning hockey these days." Amen.

Top Line (Who's Hot?): penalty kill (second in the league at 85.7 percent); goals against average (2.51, seventh in the league); Nicklas Backstrom (points in 10 of his last 12 games).

Scratches (Who's Not?): injuries (seem to be mounting); Scott Hannan (minus-four, second-worst on the team); Mathieu Perreault (only one point this month).