Washington Capitals Daily Report – 5/9

morning-skate
Photo: @washcaps

The Capitals held a final practice at Kettler this morning before heading to Pittsburgh this afternoon. Game 6 is tomorrow (Tuesday) night at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh. Puck-drop is 8:00 PM. 

MORNING SKATE
CaptureAll players were present and participated in practice this morning. The practice lines were:

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

Defensive pairs:
Alzner-Niskanen
Orpik-Carlson
Orlov-Chorney

It looks like Taylor Chorney has won the bottom defensemen pair spot with Dmitry Orlov over Nate Schmidt. Trotz was asked about the decision this morning.

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The Capitals worked on their power play teams this morning.

NEWS AND NOTES

General

  • Barry Trotz from Sunday’s conference call: “In this market, it seems that everybody brings up the past. It’s funny because the past, a lot of times it’s not relevant.”
  • Former Capitals Head Coach Bruce Boudreau, recently fired by the Anaheim Ducks, was hired by the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
  • Dont forget to check-out “Caps Talk” with John Walton each weekday from 4-6PM on Caps Radio.

Capitals @ Penguins

  • Penguins Olli Maatta practiced in regular jersey this morning, which may signify he will be ready to go for Game 6 on Tuesday night.
  • Penguins Head Coach Mike Sullivan said his Game 6 starter in goal is Matt Murray.

Evgeny Kuznetsov handing out kisses today after practice:

ezgif.com-video-to-gif (19) - Kuzy-kiss

Brooks Orpik will return to the line-up for game 6, following his three-game suspension for his hit on Ollie Maatta in Game 2.

By-The-Numbers

  • John Carlson earned an assist in Game 5 on Saturday, marking his 11th point (4g, 7a) of the postseason. Carlson is the fourth defenseman in franchise history to record 11 points in a single postseason and sits one point shy of tying the franchise record for most points in a postseason by a defenseman (Kevin Hatcher, 1988; Scott Stevens, 1988). (@CapitalsPR)
  • Alex Ovechkin ranks 1st in hits, tied for 1st in points and tied for 2nd in assists & goals this series.

The Eagle has landed!

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All Caps Goals from Game 5:

The Daily Report is updated each day until 5:00 PM.

RINK LINKS
It looks like the Caps have chosen between Chorney and Schmidt (Chuck Gormley)
Barry Trotz post-practice media session this morning (Video) (Monumental Sports)
Braden Holtby post-practice interview (Video) (Monumental Sports)
T.J. Oshie post-practice interview this morning (Video) (Monumental Sports)
Brooks Orpik post-practice interview this morning (Video) (Monumental Sports)
The Noon Number: The Noon Number: TJ is OK (Japers’ Rink)
The Narrative: Matt-Andre Meury, Shining Star and Gabby (Japers’ Rink)
Will the Penguins turn to goalie Marc-Andre Fleury in Game 6? (WaPo)
The Caps, well aware that two-game leads are surmountable, may have turned tide (WaPo)
Backstrom believes defense is key to getting hands on Stanley Cup (WaPo)
Barry Trotz pleased with his rejiggered forward trios (WaPo)

About Jon Sorensen

Jon has been a Caps fan since day one, attending his first game at the Capital Centre in 1974. His interest in the Caps has grown over the decades and included time as a season ticket holder. He has been a journalist covering the team for 10+ years, primarily focusing on analysis, analytics and prospect development.
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