The Washington Capitals took the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex this morning for their morning skate prior to their tilt against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Capital One Arena. Puck drop from 7th and F can be found on NBC Sports Network at 7:30 PM. Here are all of the news leading up to puck drop: 

Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik was missing again after suffering a lower-body injury last week. Orpik, who hasn’t practiced since Saturday, will miss his fourth consecutive game. Defenseman Madison Bowey will take the 38-year old’s spot in the lineup again.

Still no sign of defenseman Brooks Orpik, who will miss his fourth straight game with a lower-body injury. Hasn’t practiced since last Saturday.

— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) November 7, 2018

No surprise here but goaltender Braden Holtby will start against the Penguins on Wednesday night after Pheonix Copley started in the team’s 4-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday, when made 31 saves. Holtby has lost each of his past three starts, going 0-2-1 and allowing 13 goals in that span.

In case you missed it, the Capitals will hold a ceremony for center Nicklas Backstrom before the game. Backstrom tallied his 600th NHL assist in a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on October 22.

Capitals Lines vs. Penguins

No change in Caps’ lines for Pens game.

Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Jaskin
Stephenson-Backstrom-Oshie
Burakovsky-Eller-Connolly
Vrana-Boyd-DSP

Orlov-Niskanen
Kempny-Carlson
Djoos-Bowey

Assume Holtby starts.

— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) November 7, 2018

Shavings

-the Capitals have been scoring on 48% of their power play opportunities at Capital One Arena (12 goals on 25 opportunities), 7.1% greater than the Jets, who rank second in the NHL in home power play percentage

-Backstrom has 48 points (41 assists) in 43 games against Pittsburgh, the most assists among active players against the Penguins

-Since the 2014-15 season, the Capitals have a record of 116-40-15 at home, ranking first in the NHL both wins and points (247). During that span, the Capitals’ 546 goals for ranks fourth, while their 375 goals against rank first

-Center Evgeny Kuznetsov enters Wednesday’s game riding a four-game point streak, where he’s tallied a goal and five assists over that span; he leads the Capitals with 18 points this season

-The Capitals are first in the NHL with a 3.77 goals per game average while the Penguins are third with 3.54

-Captain Alex Ovechkin has recorded seven goals and 10 points in his past eight games; he has tallied 34 goals and 57 points in 53 career games against Pittsburgh, leading all NHL skaters in goals and points against the franchise

-The Capitals have averaged 4.29 goals per game at home this season

-Ovechkin is one power-play goal shy of passing Marcel Dionne (234) for eighth place on the NHL power-play goals list

Capitals Today

CAPS TODAY: The Caps will hold a pre-game ceremony tonight to honor Nicklas Backstrom for reaching the 600 assist milestone. More info on Backstrom’s accomplishments and the Caps on https://t.co/HecIC0ECg1 pic.twitter.com/ZuVeSWl01q

— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) November 7, 2018

Game Notes

GAME NOTES: The Capitals continue their home stand with a Wednesday night matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins. https://t.co/xEfvatYVXr pic.twitter.com/ecYK1xfR6W

— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) November 6, 2018

By Harrison Brown