Washington Capitals Daily Report – 3/14

Photo: @washcaps

The Capitals were back at Kettler this morning for the first time in over a week, following their return-trip from the west coast yesterday. The Caps next contest is tomorrow night at Verizon Center when they play host the Carolina Hurricanes. Puck-drop is 7:00 PM.

Morning Skate:
Not happy with some of the recent offensive play, Coach Trotz implemented lines changes this morning at practice. Trotz confirmed he has some concerns with his team’s play of late, including first period efforts. Practice lines at morning skate:

Offensive Lines
Ovechkin-Backstrom-Beagle
Burakovsky-Kuznetsov-Oshie
Chimera-Johansson-Williams
Winnik-Richards-Wilson

Defensive Pairs:
Alzner-Niskanen
Orpik-Orlov
Weber-Schmidt

John Carlson skated after team practice today. This was his first skate since being placed on injured reserve (IR). Because Carlson is on IR, he can not return to the active roster prior to March 22nd. Alex Ovechkin commented on his current injury today after practice:

Ovechkin said his lower-body injury that kept him out of the all-star game still bothers him.

— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) March 14, 2016

News and Notes:

The Capitals will clinch a playoff berth with a win over the Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow night.
The Capitals have yet to lose two consecutive games in regulation this season.
CSN Mid-Atlantic will celebrate Craig Laughlin’s 25th season as a Capitals analyst during live coverage of Friday’s Capitals-Predators game. Fans are invited to celebrate with Laughlin after the game at Penn Commons, a restaurant located adjacent to the arena. More info here:
Join John Walton at Flight Wine Bar from 4-6pm on Tuesday for the “Caps Talk” radio show before the Caps-Canes game. Located at 777 6th ST NW.
Today was Day One of the General Manager’s meetings in Boca Raton Florida. The primary topic: Coaches Challenge. More on Pierre LeBrun’s Day 1 Blog.
Washington Capitals Fan Appreciation Week is March 21st through 26th. More information can be found here: