(Photo: @capsbigbossman)
The Capitals are back in action tonight (Thursday) for the middle game of their three-game road trip, as they take on the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. Washington has won three consecutive games and four of its last five games. Puck drop for the game is 10 PM Eastern Time.
Morning Skate
The Capitals held morning skate at 11:30 PT. Practice lines for the morning skate:
Offensive Lines
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Oshie
Johansson-Backstrom-Williams
Chimera-Beagle-Wilson
Laich-Stephenson-Burakovsky
Defensive Pairs
Orpik-Carlson
Alzner-Niskanen
Orlov-Schmidt
It looks like the only projected change to the line-up is Nate Schmidt in for Taylor Chorney. Nate Schmidt confirmed after the morning skate that he’s in the lineup tonight, and expects to skate with Dmitri Orlov.
Capitals @ Canucks
The Capitals (4-1-0) continue their three-game road trip tonight when they take on the Canucks (3-1-2) in Vancouver. For a complete game preview, check out our earlier post right here.
Alan May and Craig Laughlin compare notes at morning skate (Photo: Joe Beninati)
News and Notes
Coach Trotz stated on Wednesday that Braden Holtby would start against Vancouver on Thursday, and that Phillipp Grubauer would get his first start of the season on Friday against the Oilers in Edmonton.
The Capitals Hockey Fights Cancer night has been scheduled for Wednesday night (10/28) at Verizon Center. Please consider joining NoVa Caps in supporting this great cause. You can read more about next Wednesday event right here.
Washington ranks first in the NHL in shots against per game (24.2). The Capitals held the Flames to 19 shots on Tuesday, marking the second consecutive game Washington has held its opponent to fewer than 20 shots (10/17 vs. CAR: 19). The last time the Capitals held their opponents to fewer than 20 shots in consecutive games was during the 2003-04 season. Washington held the NY Islanders to 18 shots on Oct. 9, 2003, then held the Atlanta Thrashers to 19 shots on Oct. 11, 2003.
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