Our short Caps dialogue:  The Washington Capitals enter Atlanta for the second time in a week tonight with a 7 point lead in the Southeast Division, a 7-2-2 overall record, and winners of 5 consecutive games.

The Caps are in a hot stretch, even though their power play is off and the penalty kill has been less than impressive.  That is actually good news, because the PP is bound to heat up and penalty kill will become more effective when  Boyd Gordon returns.

The Caps have also struggled during stretches with secondary line scoring.  Two nights ago against Philadelphia, the caps scored 4 goals, all coming from the first line of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Alexander Semin.  The imminent return of Tomas Fleischmann, who has not played yet this year, could provide the boost and spark the secondary lines need.

Giroux to Hershey, Aucoin stays . . . The Capitals optioned Alexandre Giroux to Hershey to make room for the return of Tomas Fleischmann.  Giroux's Hershey Bear top line partner Keith Aucoin remains in DC.   He centers the third line while Gordo remains out.