The Capitals (4-4-1) returned to practice Monday morning following a day-off on Sunday. The team will practice again Tuesday at Kettler Capitals Iceplex before departing on their annual Western Canada road trip. The Capitals first visit the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Thursday night . Puck drop is 10:00 PM.
News
Andre Burakovsky did not practice with the team this morning. The Capitals announced he was out with an “upper body injury”.
#Caps Andre Burakovsky (upper body) will not skate today.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) October 23, 2017
Burakovsky was hooked in last two mins of the game on Saturday. He left the game, took off his left glove and clenched his hand, and appeared to be in some pain. With the Capitals hitting the road for the good part of the week, the team may need to make some decisions. More on that here.
Trotz said he doesn’t know if Burakovsky will travel with the team to Western Canada. Graovac will not make the trip.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) October 23, 2017
Additionally, Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin also appeared to sustain an injury during this morning’s practice. Ovi would sustain a fall in 2-on-2 drills, get up and leave the ice. It looks like Ovechkin will be ok. NBC Sports Washington’s Tarki El Bashir caught up with Ovechkin prior to the annual canine photo shoot.
Just talked to Ovechkin. He said he tweaked something but should be fine. He’s at the #Caps canine calendar shoot. pic.twitter.com/t7gTIMNhjX
— Tarik El-Bashir (@TarikNBCS) October 23, 2017
more from Washington Post here.
The Morning Lines:
With Andre Burakovsky sidelined, Jakub Vrana was dropped to the third line to fill in for Vurakovsky, and Alex Chiasson replaced Vrana on the second line with Ovechkin and Kuznetsov.
Lines without Burakovsky:
Wilson-Backstrom-Oshie
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Chiasson
Connolly-Eller-Vrana
Walker-Beagle-DSP— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) October 23, 2017
Capitals’ head coach Barry Trotz met with the media after practice. He spoke about the extent of the injuries to Burakovsky, Ovechkin and Graovac, and gave an idea of who would be making the trip for the western Canada games.
#Caps head coach Barry Trotz talks to the media after today’s practice with injury updates before the team heads out west. #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/oPM1lJRxDt
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 23, 2017
Shavings
- Through six NHL games, Capitals rookie defenseman Christian Djoos has two goals and an assist, all coming at even strength.
- Djoos, who became the first defenseman in franchise history to record two points in his NHL debut game against the Pittsburgh Penguins (10/11), leads the Capitals in shot attempts percentage at five-on-five (59.12 percent), with 81 on-ice shot attempts for and 56 against.
- Djoos’ 2.27 points per 60 minutes of five-on-five play is the fifth-highest total on the Capitals and the highest total among Capitals defensemen.
Is Chiasson really going to aid the Ovi/Kuzy line? Or will it go about as well as Montreal’s attempts to try every 4th liner and minor league call up on their 2nd line during 2015-2016? (Note: Eller was the center when those unfortunate experiments were tried, with none working.)
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