Washington Capitals Daily Report (11-09-15)

(Photo: Washington Capitals)

The Caps returned to practice at Kettler this morning (Monday) after taking the day off on Sunday. The Capitals headed to Detroit this afternoon for their game against the Red Wings tomorrow night. Puck-drop for Tuesday nights tilt is 7:30 PM.

Morning Skate
Brooks Laich was not at practice today. Maintenance day.

Justin Williams worked with both the top six and bottom six during drills today.

The all-Swedish line of Marcus Johansson, Nicklas Backstrom and Andre Burakovsky practiced as the second line again this morning.

Capitals @ Red Wings
The Capitals face the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday at Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings will honor 2015 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Sergei Fedorov at Tuesday’s game. Fedorov registered 46 points (13g, 33a) in 70 games with the Capitals from 2007-09.

Mike Green returned to the Red Wings lineup yesterday, and should be good-to-go versus the Capitals on Tuesday night.

MoJo smiles at morning skate today

News and Notes
As per Isabelle Khurshudyan, “Trotz said Chris Brown (hand) is going to see the doctor on Thursday. He should he be cleared by doc, then will be reassigned to Hershey”. Chris Brown would need to clear waivers. (Trotz) was clear that it’s not for a conditioning assignment. Brown is getting reassigned as soon as he’s medically cleared.

Trotz said there is an 80 percent chance Brooks Laich plays tomorrow. Laich’s injury is related to a shot he blocked. Came off the ice kind of hobbled.

Trotz said he thinks Stephenson would be a good fit vs. Detroit, with Latta a better fit vs. Philly. So, lines tomorrow might reflect that. With 18 and 46, appears those two could be interchangeable for a while depending on matchup. Trotz has also talked to 46 about playing wing.

When asked about facing his old teammate, Mike Green, Alex Ovechkin said he’s going to slash Mike Green’s beloved Easton stick.

After two years of sometimes arduous negotiations, NBC Sports Group reached a handshake agreement to extend its media rights deals with both the Capitals and Wizards through the 2031-32 NHL and NBA seasons. Final contracts have yet to be signed, but sources say that the 15-year deals will give the teams’ owner, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, a 33 percent equity interest in the Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic regional sports network that covers Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.

Evgeny Kuznetsov held an informal, impromptu chat with fans on Sunday night. Kuzy utilized the Periscope Twitter app to answer questions from approximately 130 fans (90% Russian, 10% English) and even introduced his baby daughter.

Latest Stories
Capitals’ Tom Wilson tries to balance playing smarter with staying physical (WaPo)
Ovechkin could eclipse Fedorov’s record in Detroit with Fedorov in attendance (WaPo)
Braden Holtby, Philipp Grubauer weigh in on Babcock’s idea to widen nets (WaPo)
Sergei Fedorov had no idea Alex Ovechkin was a Fedorov fan (Yahoo)
Monday Caps Clips (Japer’s Rink)
Leonsis keeps RSN in the picture with deals (Sports Business Journal)