Notes from Capitals’ Morning Skate in Detroit

Posted on October 20, 2017 by Jon Sorensen
Photo: @Capitals

The Capitals held their gameday morning skate at 11:30 a.m. this morning at the newly-minted $863 million Little Caesers Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The Capitals (3-3-1) take on Mike Green and the Detroit Red Wings (4-3-0) tonight at 7:30 pm. Our game preview is here.

The Morning Lines
Line changes that were made before yesterday’s practice are holding true for tonight’s game. Andre aburakovsky has dropped to the third line and moved over to the right side. Tom Wilson has been elevated to the top line with Backstrom and Oshie, and moved over to the left side. Lars Eller, who was sick earlier in the week and missed the last game against Toronto fully participated in this morning’s skate.

Netminders
Braden Holtby will get the start tonight in Detroit. Petr Mrazek will get the start for the Red Wings. Look for Philipp Grubauer to get the nod tomorrow night when the Capitals host the Florida Panthers.

Notes

From the other side:
The Red Wings projected lines and defensive pairings for tonight’s tilt with the Capitals, as presented during today’s morning skate:

Forward Lines
Anthony Mantha – Henrik Zetterberg – Gustav Nyquist
Tomas Tatar – Dylan Larkin – Justin Abdelkader
Martin Frk – Frans Nielsen – Darren Helm
Luke Glendening – Riley Sheahan – Luke Witkowski

Defensive Pairings
Niklas Kronwall – Mike Green
Jonathan Ericsson – Trevor Daley
Xavier Ouellet – Nick Jensen

 

Shavings

  • Tonight is Jay Beagle’s 400th game in NHL.
  • The Capitals play their first game at Little Caesars Arena, the newly installed home for the Red Wings that replaced Joe Louis Arena.
  • The Capitals’ last game at Joe Louis Arena was Feb. 18, 2017, a 3-2 shootout loss.
  • Former Capital Daniel Winnik was the last player in franchise history to score a goal in Joe Louis Arena.
  • On Oct. 19, 1974, the Capitals played their first ever game against the Detroit Red Wings, which resulted in a 6-4 loss. The game marked Washington’s third-ever away game in franchise history.

Scenes from Detroit


Photo: @Capitals

Photo: @Sarasweeney10

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.
This entry was posted in News and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to Notes from Capitals’ Morning Skate in Detroit

  1. Pingback: Washington Capitals Daily Links: Detroit, Rock City! | NoVa Caps

  2. Pingback: Andre Burakovsky Finally Breaks Through | NoVa Caps

Leave a Reply