Washington Capitals Daily Report (10-07-15)

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Wednesday represented the proverbial “calm before the storm“, as the Capitals had the day off from workouts at Kettler. The Capitals spent the afternoon conducting team-building exercises in Georgetown.

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Tomorrow, the team will begin preparations for the season opener against the New Jersey Devils Saturday night at Verizon Center.

Roster Management
The Capitals finalized their roster on Tuesday (prior to the 5:00 pm deadline). As expected, Nicklas Backstrom will begin the season on the Injured Reserve (IR) list. A minor surprise, Brooks Orpik was also placed on IR. This may have been a simple roster maneuver in order to get down to the mandatory 23-man roster. Both Backstrom and Orpik can be taken off IR at anytime. Brooks Orpik is still likely to play on Saturday. Trotz said Backstrom is going to see his hip surgeon sometime next week. The timetable for Backstrom’s return will become a little clearer following the visit to the surgeon.

Projected Opening Night Roster
Forwards
Alex Ovechkin-Evgeny Kuznetsov-T.J. Oshie
Marcus Johansson-Andre Burakovsky-Justin Williams
Jason Chimera-Jay Beagle-Tom Wilson
Brooks Laich-Michael Latta-Stanislav Galiev/Sean Collins

Defensemen
John Carlson-Brooks Orpik
Karl Alzner-Matt Niskanen
Dmitry Orlov-Nate Schmidt
Taylor Chorney

Goaltenders
Braden Holtby
Philipp Grubauer

Injured Non-Roster
Nicklas Backstrom
Brooks Orpik
Chris Brown

News and Notes
The Washington Capitals will launch their 2015-16 regular-season home opener on Saturday, Oct. 10, with a special red carpet event, presented by GEICO, on F Street in front of Verizon Center from 3 to 5 p.m. The Capitals host the New Jersey Devils at 7 p.m. that evening. The Capitals 2015-16 team will begin arriving in cars provided by Lexus on F Street at approximately 3 p.m. Capitals PA announcer Wes Johnson will serve as the master of ceremonies and will introduce players as they are escorted by preselected fans down the red carpet. Upon arrival players will greet fans and pose for pictures.

Next Capitals Blood Drive! – The next Inova-Capitals Blood Drive will take place on Saturday, November 14th, at Kettler. Each donor will receive a Evgeny Kuznetsov Bobblehead. To register, click here.

Hockey Season begins today! As a reminder, at the end of June the NHL announced rule changes for the upcoming 2015-2016 season. 3 on 3 Overtime was the big one, but not the only one you’re likely notice at some point in the coming season. Get familiar with what you’ll need to know in the NoVa Caps summary right here.

Tuesday morning seat availability

Ticket Trends
At 11:00 a.m. this morning, approximately 602 tickets remained on Stubhub for the season opener on Saturday. Current prices range from $50 for upper level seats to $499 for glass seats (Row A) in section 102.

Tickets on the Washington Capitals official ticket exchange range from $48 for upper level to $1,053 for Section 107.

From The Den
Goaltender Vitek Vanecek has been reassigned to the South Carolina Stingrays. The Hershey Bears opening night roster will be announced later today. Justin Peters and Dan Ellis will be the goalies in Hershey.

Latest Stories
2015-16 NHL Projected Standings: As Blackhawks step back, door opens for challengers
Stanislav Galiev makes opening day roster after drawing earlier criticism (WaPo)
Nicklas Backstrom progressing ‘very, very well,’ Trotz says (WaPo)
With history of slow starts, Capitals now brace for a long break (WaPo)
This season really won’t be Evgeny Kuznetsov’s first rodeo (WaPo)
Postgame Notebook, Caps 6, Islanders 2 (Dump and Chase)
Roster taking shape after five cuts, including Roy, Peters (WaPo)
Capitals PK ‘coming together’ with new faces (WaPo_
Capitals preparing for Nicklas Backstrom to miss start of season (WaPo)
Private museum lets Mitch Korn relive every moment of his hockey career (WaPo)
Andre Burakovsky still adjusting to being back at center (WaPo)
Capitals trying to be more defensive in three-on-three OT (WaPo)
Hobbs back with Pats after strong NHL camp (Global News)
Can Alex Ovechkin finally ignite T.J. Oshie’s offense with Capitals? (Yahoo)