Washington Capitals Daily Report – 4/27

Photo: @DuvallSpx

The Capitals returned to practice this morning at Kettler, to finalize preparations for game 1 of the second round of the playoffs. Puck-drop against the Penguins is a pesky prime time 8:00PM.

MORNING SKATE:
Brooks Orpik practiced again today and looks like a strong possibility for playing in tomorrow night’s opener, although he still hasn’t been medically cleared. Karl Alzner was not at practice today (maintenance day). Practice lines at morning skate:

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

Defensive pairs:
Orpik-Carlson
Weber-Niskanen
Orlov-Schmidt

Mike Weber filled in for Alzner on the second defensive pair.

Another maintenance day for Karl Alzner. Don’t panic, he looked fine when he walked past me and smiled yesterday. #CapitalsTalk

— Chuck Gormley (@ChuckGormleyCSN) April 27, 2016

Trotz said Alzner is expected to play in Game 1 vs. Pens tomorrow. Said he’s not worried. “He’ll be fine.”

— Katie Brown (@katiebhockey) April 27, 2016

Braden Holtby was officially announced as a Vezina trophy finalist this afternoon:

Extended Metro Hours
Verizon Center and Metro announce extended service for Capitals’ Playoff Game on April 28. Metrorail will remain open one additional hour to accommodate fans attending the Capitals playoff game tomorrow, Thursday, April 28 at Verizon Center at 8 p.m. Fans entering the system after midnight must use the following station entrances:

Gallery Place (7th and F Street entrance only)
Judiciary Square (F Street entrance only)
Metro Center (11th & G Street entrance only)

All Capitals Goals from Round 1 in 60 seconds:

NEWS AND NOTES

General

Yesterday, the NHL announced the complete schedule for the Capitals-Penguins series, which can be found here:
The Flyers Brayden Schenn was suspended for his hit on T.J. Oshie in game 6 of the first round series. More information here:
The Capitals have announced a viewing party at Verizon Center for game 4 on Thursday, May 4th. More information here:
Don’t forget to catch “Caps Talk” with John Walton each weekday from 4-6PM on Caps Radio.

Capitals-Penguins

The Capitals and Penguins met five times during the regular season with Washington posting a 2-2-1 record.
A recap of the playoff history between the Penguins and Capitals can be found here:
Penguins Coach Mike Sullivan said Conor Sheary (missed today’s practice) has “some bumps & bruises.” The Penguns medical staff held him out today, but he is expected to play Game 1.