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Today on NBCSN: Bruins hope the Capitals can be their slumpbuster

Boston Bruins v Washington Capitals

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 24: Tyler Seguin #19 of the Boston Bruins scores in the second period against Tomas Vokoun #29 of the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center on January 24, 2012 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

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When the Bruins face the Capitals in Washington this afternoon (12:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN) they’re doing so coming off a tough loss to Pittsburgh yesterday and on a rough skid of their own. The Bruins are just 4-5-1 in their last 10 games and while Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask have played poorly during that stretch, a more troubling issue of late is their lack of offense.

In their last two games only Joe Corvo’s goal in the third period yesterday against Pittsburgh is all they’ve got. When a team gets in a funk everything seems to go down the tubes. The defense has been lax, the goaltending left out to dry, and the offense is hurting.

To take down the Capitals today, coach Claude Julien will need to get a lift from Tyler Seguin, David Krejci, and Milan Lucic rather than bombing away with shots from the outside with shots from Zdeno Chara and the rest of the Bruins’ defense. As Bruins forward Chris Kelly put it, there’s no time for excuses when you’re slumping.

Washington, meanwhile, handily took care of Montreal yesterday and saw Tomas Vokoun pass Ken Dryden on the all-time shutouts list and they’re 5-3-2 in their last 10 games. They’ve got Alex Ovechkin back after serving his suspension and even Alex Semin seemed interested in playing yesterday as well.

Without Nicklas Backstrom it’s a struggle for the Caps to keep the offense going. They’ll be looking for surprise offensive help like they had when these two teams last met on January 24 when Mathieu Perreault netted a hat trick to lead the Caps to a 5-3 win. Meanwhile, coach Dale Hunter will be looking for some toughness out of his defense as the Bruins’ attack will surely be on the prowl.