Weekly Snapshot, Jan. 30

A weekly peek at the state of the Washington Capitals.

Record/Standings Position: 27-15-9 (63 points), 2nd Southeast Division/5th Eastern Conference/8th NHL

Last Week's Games:
* Lost, 2-1 (OT), vs. New York Rangers
* Lost, 1-0, at Atlanta Thrashers

This Week's Games:
* Tuesday vs. Montreal Canadiens (7:30 p.m., CSN-HD)
* Friday at Tampa Bay Lightning (7:30 p.m., CSN-Plus-HD)
* Sunday vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (12:30 pm., NBC-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: 140.

Recent Transactions: Assigned Jay Beagle, Mathieu Perreault and Braden Holtby to Hershey (Jan. 27); loaned Tyler Sloan to Hershey for a conditioning stint (Jan. 23).

Top Storylines:
* The Caps face three very tough games after the all-star break, meaning they better get things in order quickly.
* Speaking of which, the team continues to excel on defense and the penalty kill, while struggling to score goals in all situations (especially the power play).
* One way to get out of the funk will be to go to the net and continue to take smart shots. Substance over style.

Top Line (Who's Hot?): penalty kill (second in the league at 86 percent); goals against average (2.45, seventh in the league); Jason Chimera (six points in January after only seven in November and December combined).

Scratches (Who's Not?): goals scored (2.71, 17th in the league); power play (17.1 percent, 19th); winning percentage when scoring first (66.7 percent, 19th).