When the Washington Capitals were taking their initial rushes at the start of morning skate on Wednesday, there was some confusion on the blue line. One guy was not skating with his familiar partner. Was it because that particular player was scratched? Was it all a fluke? It was an interesting story line, as if things weren’t interesting enough with the upcoming five-game stretch.
Taylor Chorney, who has been scratched numerous times throughout the season, was taking rushes with John Carlson. Chorney has only appeared in 23 of the Capitals’ 49 games this season. Would this mean he would be in the lineup tonight against the Flyers?
Looks like Taylor Chorney could be in the the lineup tonight vs. Flyers. He’s taking rushes with John Carlson at the #Caps morning skate.
— Michael Marzzacco (@Marswaggo) January 31, 2018
Here we have Chorney defending Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Knuznetsov, the top line duo. That was another possible indication.
Taylor Chorney might possibly be in the lineup tonight for #CapsFlyers #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/QZ71uSDQDm
— NoVa Caps (@NoVa_Caps) January 31, 2018
Here is what the defensive pairs looked like:
Chorney-Carlson
Orlov-Niskanen
Orpik-Bowey
This meant that Christian Djoos might possibly be the odd man out. Here we have him dishing the puck to his teammates as they worked on slapshots and one-timers.
Djoos passing #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/jI1ghqQF40
— NoVa Caps (@NoVa_Caps) January 31, 2018
But then the morning skate came to a close. Per usual, the scratch’s for that night’s game would remain on the ice putting in extra work. Who was that defenseman still on the ice? It was Chorney, not Djoos.
Chorney is the only defensemen still on the ice. Looks like he’s scratched after all. #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/b6h8VjoTif
— NoVa Caps (@NoVa_Caps) January 31, 2018
Trotz would confirm to reporters that Chorney is indeed out.
No Jakub Vrana tonight for #Caps. “His game has fallen off the last little while…” Barry Trotz says. D Taylor Chorney also out.
— Brian McNally (@bmcnally14) January 31, 2018
With that, here’s what the defensive pairs will look like for tonight’s game vs. the Flyers:
Djoos-Carlson
Orlov-Niskanen
Orpik-Bowey
Familiar defensive pairings indeed. We’ll have more news from the Capitals morning skate later so feel free to check back to NoVaCaps.com for more.
By Michael Marzzacco
Follow @marswaggo
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