News and Notes from Saturday’s Capitals Morning Skate: Where’s T.J. Oshie?

Posted on April 7, 2018 by
DaL8ApxX0AAfOZ3.jpg-largePhoto: @Capitals

And then there was one. Just one more regular season game until the chase for the Stanley Cup begins. The Washington Capitals will take on the New Jersey Devils Saturday night at Capital One Arena. It could be a preview of the first round of the playoffs. Or it might not be. The Capitals held one last regular season morning skate at Kettler Capitals Iceplex before the game. Here are the news and notes direct from the rink. 

NEWS
T.J. Oshie and Travis Boyd weren’t on the ice for morning skate due to maintenance issues. After the skate, Capitals head coach Barry Trotz said that Boyd is ill and that Oshie just needed more maintenance.

Jay Beagle wasn’t on the ice either as he was still nursing an upper body injury. He mentioned on Friday that he wasn’t going to skate until Monday. He has missed the last two games with his third game missed coming tonight. Trotz said that he expects Beagle to be ready for the playoffs.

Alex Chiasson will be in the lineup for the third straight game on the fourth line. Devante Smith-Pelly will skate on the third line for the fifth straight game. Jakub Vrana is back in the lineup over on the third line. Shane Gersich will play in his third Capitals game tonight.

Braden Holtby will get the start in goal tonight against the Devils. Holtby has won two of his last three starts with a 2.35 goals against average and a .931 save percentage. According to the game notes, Holtby has stopped 94.4 percent of the shots he faced on the penalty kill during that three-game stretch (17 of 18). Holtby is 14-3-3 lifetime against New Jersey with a 1.93 GAA and a .927 save percentage.

CAPITALS LINES

Forwards
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Wilson
Burakovsky-Backstrom-Connolly
Vrana-Eller-DSP
Gersich-Stephenson-Chiasson
Defense
Kempny-Carlson
Orlov-Niskanen
Orpik-Jerabek
Starting goalie: Braden Holtby

Out: T.J. Oshie (maintenance), Jay Beagle (upper-body), Travis Boyd (maintenance), Brian Pinho, Christian Djoos, and Madison Bowey

PRACTICE VIDEO
Taking the Kettler ice for the last time this regular season.

Dump n’ chase.

The Holtbeast getting warmed up for tonight.

Tiger cam (Lars Eller).

The forwards working on their passing and shooting.

Tom Wilson vs. Chandler Stephenson in a face-off battle

Holtby stretching before leaving the ice.

Christian Djoos and Madison Bowey taking part in the scratch’s skate.

Brian Pinho getting some extra work in.

SHAVINGS

  • The Capitals are 107-74-13-15 all-time against the Devils.
  • Sitting at 47 goals this season, Alex Ovechkin needs a hat trick tonight for his eighth 50-goal season of his career. He would join the likes of Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky as the only two players in NHL history to reach the 50-goal mark in at least eight seasons.
  • This season, the Capitals have converted on 22.7 percent of their power play opportunities (55 out of 242), ranking seventh in the NHL.
  • Over the last four seasons, the Capitals 204-89-34 record gives them the most wins and the most points (442) in the NHL, 28 more points than the Anaheim Ducks, who rank second over that span.
  • Over the last four seasons, Braden Holtby’s 93 wins at home rank first in the NHL, his 2.06 goals-against average ranks first and his .926 save percentage is tied for second among goaltenders with at last 100 home starts over the last four seasons.
  • The Capitals have earned a point in 10 consecutive games against the Devils (8-0-2) and have won three of their last five games by a score of 5-2.
  • Holtby has four shutouts against the Devils, the most shutouts he’s had against a single opponent.
  • Alex Ovechkin has earned 52 points (22 goals, 30 assists) in 48 career games against the Devils and has tallied 13 points in his last 11 games against New Jersey (5 goals, 8 assists).

GAME NOTES

CAPS TODAY

INTERVIEWS

CAPS RED LINE

CAPITALS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

By Michael Marzzacco

Braden Holtby is your starting goaltender for #CapsDevils tonight

A post shared by NoVa Caps (@nova_caps) on

About Michael Marzzacco

Michael is an avid DC sports fan with a passion for writing. He has followed the Washington Capitals since the 2003-04 season, around the time his enthusiasm for DC teams really began. It was from the days when they had the worst record in the league to when they became the most exciting team in the area. His Dad took him to his first Caps game a couple of years later. One of his favorite memories was being in the stands during the 2015 Winter Classic where Troy Brouwer scored the game-winning goal with 12 seconds left. Michael graduated from Radford University in May 2016, earning a degree in journalism and focusing on sports journalism and broadcasting. His goal is to work in sports media in Washington, D.C.
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One Response to News and Notes from Saturday’s Capitals Morning Skate: Where’s T.J. Oshie?

  1. Pingback: Jay Beagle Continues Recovery from Upper-Body Injury (Update) | NoVa Caps

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