Photo: Capitals Twitter

The Washington Capitals were back practicing at Kettler after falling 2-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime on Sunday afternoon, their third straight defeat. Washington will take on the Florida Panthers at 7:30 on Thursday night before heading out for the All-Star Break. NBC Sports Washington will have the coverage. Here are today’s news and notes from the Capitals’ practice on Tuesday: 

News:

After Barry Trotz praised Jakub Vrana‘s play Sunday against Philadelphia, he kept the young Czech on the fourth line with Jay Beagle and Chandler Stephenson in practice on Tuesday. Vrana hasn’t scored since December 14, a 5-3 win in Boston, and has tallied three assists in 15 games since. He only has one point in his past 12 games.

Alex Chiasson was the odd man out in the Capitals’ lines on Tuesday. He was a healthy scratch on Sunday for the second time in three games. He has seven goals and 10 points in 44 games this season.

The Capitals made no line changes after Sunday’s loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Capitals also practiced 3-on-3 overtime, where they have lost two of their three games and their current losing streak, in Tuesday’s practice. They lost 4-3 to the New Jersey Devils in overtime on Thursday, their first game back from the bye week.

Capitals’ Lines

#Caps practice lines on Tuesday look familiar: 8-92-43; 65-19-77; 18-20-10; and 13-83-25. Chiasson rotating in.

— Tarik El-Bashir⌨️🎙🏒 (@TarikNBCS) January 23, 2018

Interviews:

Head Coach Barry Trotz’s press conference after practice. #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/IGIJFCWh3b

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 23, 2018

Rinkside Update | The line-mate chemistry between @bconnolly8 and @lellerofficial continues #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/t8eWgYTiWJ

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 23, 2018

Caps Today:

CAPS TODAY: Washington holds a 17-8-4 record against the Eastern Conference this year, good for the fourth-most points against the Eastern Conference in the NHL. https://t.co/cQJFlgOJEg pic.twitter.com/7tKUk4G7m6

— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) January 23, 2018

Capitals’ Prospect Report:

PROSPECT REPORT: Ilya Samsonov has a 10-9-1 record this year with a 2.44 goals against average and a .922 save percentage. https://t.co/GfT3O2C2WE pic.twitter.com/t8m6TncBkB

— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) January 23, 2018

Shavings:

-the Capitals have lost their past two games against Florida, both at home, and have gone 3-4-0 in their past seven against the Panthers. The Panthers beat the Capitals 4-1 on October 21, the first meeting of the year between the two teams.

–Alex Ovechkin needs one goal for his 13th 30-goal season and one assist for his 500th of his career. He would join Nicklas Backstrom, who recorded his 500th assist on January 7 last season, for the second Capital to reach the 500-assist plateau. Ovechkin recorded a goal against the Flyers and is on pace for 50 goals this season. Ovechkin leads the NHL with 29 goals.

-Cat Attack: Braden Holtby has a 9-1-1 record lifetime against the Panthers with a .919 save percentage and a 2.33 goals against average. Nicklas Backstrom’s 46 points against the Panthers rank the fourth-most points he has scored against a single opponent while his 36 assists rank third.

-The Capitals’ five-point lead over the New Jersey Devils for first place in the Metropolitan Division standings is the biggest margin between consecutive teams in the standings. New Jersey has two games in hand on the Capitals. They play the Boston Bruins at TD Garden tonight.

-The Capitals’ .635 points percentage rank the sixth best in the NHL.

-The three-day break between games is the third time this month that the Capitals have had a three-day break in between games. The Capitals are 1-0-1 in both of those occasions this month and are 2-2-1 this season when playing after three or more days in between games.

By Harrison Brown