There had been an outcry of support from a lot of Caps fans ever since he was waived and subsequently re-assigned to the Hershey Bears back on February 20th. Devante Smith-Pelly had become a fan favorite during his short time with the Capitals organization, and now he was gone. That all changed on Friday when the Capitals announced Smith-Pelly was being recalled from Hershey, and would play in Game 5 on Saturday night.
Smith-Pelly made his first appearance in Capitals gear Saturday morning at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. If there was any doubt as to how Capitals fans felt about the Stanley Cup champion, those doubts were quickly erased as he stepped onto the ice Saturday morning.
…And The Crowd Goes Wild!
Listen to @capitals fans as @smithpelly23 returns to morning skate.He told us after:
“I’m just going to feed off the importance of every night and try to do my best.” @SherreeBurruss with your #ALLCAPS coverage tonight at 6 on @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/JoY2xGyb5X— dckerNBC4 (@dckerNBC4) April 20, 2019
Smith-Pelly met with the media following the Capitals morning skate, and was asked about the fans reception:
.@smithpelly23 on the recall from Hershey to play in Game 5#ALLCAPS #CapsCanes pic.twitter.com/hReFQm1xDV
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 20, 2019
Smith-Pelly, 26, has recorded eight points (4g, 4a) in 54 games with the Capitals this season. In 20 games with Hershey, the 6’0”, 223-pound forwarded recorded 14 points (6g, 8a), including a hat trick on March 10 against the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Smith-Pelly will anchor slot in the LW on the 4th line with Nic Dowd and Chandler Stephenson in tonight’s Game 5 versus Carolina.
Caps projected Game 5 lineup:
Ovechkin-Backstrom-Wilson
Vrana-Kuznetsov-Hagelin
Burakovsky-Eller-Connolly
Stephenson-Dowd-DSPSiegenthaler-Carlson
Orlov-Niskanen
Orpik-JensenHoltby
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) April 20, 2019
Game 5 gets going a little after 8:00 PM tonight at Capital One Arena. The seven-games series is currently tied 2-2.
By Jon Sorensen
