Photo: @Capitals
After a disastrous 5-0 whitewashing from the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3, Capitals Head Coach Todd Reirden made some notable changes to the team’s lineup ahead of Game 4 on Thursday.
Per The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan, Travis Boyd will replace Chandler Stephenson on the fourth-line, while Jonas Siegenthaler will replace Christian Djoos (who has averaged just 7:24 of ice time with a minus-3 rating through the first two games of the series) on the third defensive-pairing.
Andre Burakovsky will move to the third-line (which has not yet scored in the postseason), while T.J. Oshie has been reunited with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom on the first-line.
Capitals’ Game 4 Lineup
Caps in practice:
Ovechkin-Backstrom-Oshie
Vrana-Kuznetsov-Wilson
Burakovsky-Eller-Connolly
Hagelin-Dowd-BoydCarlson-Jensen
Orlov-Niskanen
Orpik-SiegenthalerSo, there are some changes.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) April 17, 2019
Appears Siegenthaler will replace Djoos. And Burakovsky gets promoted to the third line, which hasn’t scored yet.
Also have the return of 8-19-77
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) April 17, 2019
Right Wing Tom Wilson is the Capitals’ nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the player who “best exemplifies leadership qualities both on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitatian contribution in his community”. Wilson had a career-high 22 goals and 40 points this season. Below is a list of qualifications nominees must meet:
The selection committee will apply the following criteria in determining the finalists and winner of the King Clancy: pic.twitter.com/FLVFxgqr3D
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) April 17, 2019
Hurricanes
The Hurricanes, meanwhile, practiced without the services of star rookie Andrei Svechnikov, who was injured during a one-sided fight with Ovechkin in Game 3 and is in concussion protocol, and Micheal Ferland, who was injured in the same game after hitting Wilson. Defenseman Calvin de Haan appears to be the odd man out for Carolina bench boss Rod Brind’Amour.
Hurricanes’ Game 4 Lineup
Hurricanes practice lines and D today:
Niederreiter-Aho-Teravainen
Foegele-Staal-Williams
McGinn-Wallmark-Martinook
Maenalanen-McKegg-BrownSlavin-Hamilton
Pesce-Faulk
Fleury-TVRExtra: de Haan-Bean
Mrazek
McElhinnySvechnikov (concussion protocol)
Ferland (upper body)— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) April 17, 2019
The Hurricanes’ nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy is veteran defenseman Justin Faulk. After a decisive Game 3 win, the ‘Canes will be looking to even the series at 2-2 at home in front of what was a raucous PNC Arena crowd. In NHL history, the home team has a record of 356-370 in Game 4, a winning percentage of .490.
Capitals Today
GAME NOTES: The Capitals face the Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow night for Game 4. https://t.co/Sss0DtEMf4 pic.twitter.com/72m9f4J8dn
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) April 17, 2019
By Mike Fleetwood
This is a pivotal game four for this Capitals team! If the good guys lose we’re probably looking at a seven game series. And I don’t think the Capitals have enough muscle to impose their will on the. Canes in a seven game series. Coach Reardon not thinking clearly with the move of Carlson to the opposite defense side. He’s weakened the defensive paring. Kempny goes down for the rest of the playoffs. Never weaken two spots. Not sure this rookie coach is capable of leading this team to another Stanley Cup Championship.
Because you know more than Reirden. Enough to even spell his name wrong.
Siegenthaler might be in the lineup, but the top 5 D will do most of the heavy lifting tonight. I’m not sure what’s going on with Djoos… so many bad decisions in the last game. We’re going to see a lot of Carlson in this game. As for forwards, Buro reunited with Connolly should create a spark. And finally – I hope Ovie can shake off the after-effects and pummeling that kid and have a positive influence on the game!