Due to Injuries, Bourque Recalled

Buoyed by offensive outbursts in each of the past three games, the Washington Capitals are 3-1-0 and in first place in the Southeast Division. But as a tough stretch of games continues tonight against the New Jersey Devils at Verizon Center, injuries to key players are beginning to mount.

Defenseman Tom Poti suffered a strained groin muscle in the first period of Thursday's 4-3 victory in Pittsburgh and is not expected to face the Devils (3-1-0). He joins first line right wing Viktor Kozlov, who is out at least one more week because of a left knee injury, and enforcer Donald Brashear, who is questionable for tonight because of a hand injury.

Because of the injuries up front, the Capitals recalled left wing Chris Bourque late yesterday. Bourque, 22, had a strong training camp and was among the last players to be cut.

The promotion of Bourque probably means Coach Bruce Boudreau is likely to play veteran center Sergei Fedorov on defense tonight. Fedorov replaced Poti for the final two periods of Thursday's game at Mellon Arena and also played on the blue line against the Vancouver Canucks. In fact, it can be argued that the Capitals' best five periods this season (all three against Vancouver, a game in which they yielded a franchise-low 10 shots on goal, and the final two periods against the Penguins) have come with Fedorov playing defense.

"There's a chance that if we don't call up a defenseman, that [Fedorov] will play defense," Boudreau said before Bourque was recalled.

Poti, meantime, is listed as day-to-day. He played 4 minutes 2 seconds in Pittsburgh before he was removed to prevent him from aggravating the injury. In addition to averaging about 20 minutes of ice time in the first three games, the 31-year-old often matches up against the opposing team's top offensive line and also plays a prominent role on special teams.

"It's not the ideal situation," Boudreau said after yesterday's practice at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. "Tom Poti is a really good defenseman, who plays 20-30 minutes. We just hope we don't lose him for too long."

It was unclear how Boudreau planned to use Bourque, who was in Philadelphia with the Hershey (Pa.) Bears preparing for a game against the Phantoms before getting the call.

Bourque, who is generously listed at 5 feet 10, is a spark plug who finishes his checks but also is capable of scoring, as he showed with his preseason performance. In six exhibition games, Bourque had three goals and three assists. On most teams, that probably would have been enough to score a spot on the opening night roster. But the Capitals, one of the league's deepest teams up front, simply could not find a spot for him. And the fact that he didn't need to clear waivers to be sent to the minors made the decision easier.

In three games for the Bears this season, Bourque has two goals and three assists (tied for third in the American Hockey League). He was scoreless in four games in Washington last season.

Johnson to Get Start

Brent Johnson is expected to start in goal tonight. It will be his second start -- and third appearance -- in five games this season. The decision to play Johnson (1-1-0 with a 2.67 goals against average and .833 save percentage) is believed to have been made before Thursday's game.

Johnson is likely to be opposed in goal by Martin Brodeur, who shut out the Thrashers in Atlanta, 1-0, on Thursday. The blanking was the 97th of Brodeur's career, moving him within six of equaling Terry Sawchuk's NHL record. The win was Brodeur's 541st, putting him 10 behind Patrick Roy for the league mark.

Bradley Dukes It Out

Matt Bradley was sporting a nasty gash on his upper lip after receiving more than a dozen stitches on the inside and outside of his mouth following his fight with Pittsburgh enforcer Paul Bissonnette.

"We were down at that point," Bradley said yesterday. "So I figured let me do something to spark the team."