Washington Capitals Daily Report (12-08-15)

(Photo: @washcaps)

The Washington Capitals return to Verizon Center tonight to host Mike Green and the Detroit Red Wings. This is the final contest of the regular season between Washington and Detroit. Puck drop is 7:30PM EST.

(Photo: @washcaps)

Game Snapshot
The Washington Capitals (18-5-2, 38 pts) and the Detroit Red Wings (15-8-4, 34 pts) are set to face-off tonight for the third time in the first 65 days of the season. The Red Wings won the first contest in Detroit, 1-0. The Capitals returned the favor eight days later, winning 2-1 in Detroit.

The Red Wings roll into Verizon Center Tuesday night on a hot streak, earning at least one point in their last 10 games – their best point streak in more than five years. The Red Wings have won their last three games, scoring five goals in each game, against Buffalo, Arizona and Nashville. (all on home ice).

Morning Skate
Brooks Orpik did not participate in morning skate today. Orpik has missed 11 straight games due to a lower body injury sustained on November 10th. As per Isabelle Khurshudyan, Karl Alzner and Marcus Johansson both participated in morning skate, and confirmed they will be playing tonight.

Offensive Lines:
Ovechkin-Backstrom-Oshie
Johansson-Kuznetsov-Williams
Chimera-Beagle-Wilson
Laich-Latta-Burakovsky

Defense:
Schmidt-Carlson
Alzner-Niskanen
Orlov-Chorney

It looks like Stanislav Galiev and Aaron Ness will be the healthy scratches for tonight’s game.

The Red Wings practice lines on Monday:

Mike Green – morning skate at Verizon (Photo: @JulianColtre)

Offensive Lines:
Larkin-Zetterberg-Abdelkader
Richards-Datsyuk-Helm
Nyquist-Sheahan-Tatar
Andersson-Glendening-Jurco

Defensive Pairings:
Kronwall-Green
DeKeyser-Ericsson
Smith-Marchenko

Jimmy Howard will get the start in goal for the Red Wings. Howard has a career .876 sv% vs. Caps and has a 3.37 GAA. Braden Holtby has been confirmed as the starter for Washington.

News and Notes

As per Alex Prewitt, Mike Green said it was quite strange passing his old home exit on the bus ride into DC. Had dinner with Nicklas Backstrom last night.
The Capitals are 10-3-1 on home ice this season and have the fewest home losses in the NHL.
Braden Holtby will play in his 200th Capitals game tonight. Holtby will be the third goalie in Caps history to play 200 games for the franchise (Kolzig:711; Beaupre:269). Holtby has posted an 8-0-1 record in his last 9 starts with one shutout, and a .937 save percentage. (@CapitalsPR).
As per Isabelle Khurshudyan, Trotz said the plan is to keep Aaron Ness around. Re-evaluating Brooks Orpik‘s recovery, but Trotz wouldn’t go into specifics.
Coach Trotz said he expects goalie Philipp Grubauer to get the start in one of the next two games, either against Florida or Tampa Bay.